The Last One Standing
by AFunnyTrashCan
Summary: Being an agent of the ZBI is hard, being a father also; but it gets complicated when a certain's agent son wants to follow in his footsteps. Now, as an mission is assigned; the relationship between father and son will be tested; both external and internal conflicts threaten to drive them apart, but will they truly make it through to the end as a family? Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_**Welcome to my first story, hope you'll enjoy it. I have a rough idea of the story and how it will go, but of course the details will need to be worked on :)**_

" _So you'll take me? But wouldn't it look weird?"_

 _"Well, better you're with me than here anyways."_

 _"It hurts to walk..."_

 _"Well then, that won't do, luckily I have some resources to help."_

 _"So, does this means you're my dad?"_

 _"Of course, and I'm happy to have the honors to be your father."_

* * *

" _William..."_ A soft voice spoke out. " _Didn't I tell you that school is right now?"_

The voice was met with a meager response, " _Ugh...five more minutes, please..."_

The light was flicked on in the room, " _If you're going to be like that, I'll just have to resort to special measures."_

The bed's inhabitant, a cat squirmed around trying to go back to sleep, " _It can't be Monday already."_

" _One last chance, open your eyes, now."_

The lack of a response prompted the other inhabitant in the room to reached down to the bedridden cat's tail hanging out lazily; and after a second of hesitation, the cat's father tugged with a firm grip; the sharp pain produced a loud yelp, "AH! DAD! STOP!" the cat yelled out.

"This is the fourth time this month I had to pull your lazy tail out of bed; how do you expect to become an agent of the ZBI if you can't even drag yourself out of bed?" his father firmly reprimanded.

The cat immediately sat bolt upright, and had to resist a quick growl to his own father; who himself was actually a rabbit; "Dad. I'm perfectly capable of waking myself up."

The rabbit smirked, "You sure? Class begins in half an hour."

William's eyes popped open, "Oh... _scat_!"

His father tsked, "If you are late, this will be your third tardiness; and I believe the academy sends a letter to me, along with you facing disciplinary action."

"Yeah...um... _Not again..._ " The cat rubbed his left leg while trying to force himself awake, "Is breakfast ready?"

His father sighed, "It would've; if you've bothered to wake up. I believe your habit of being on your phone until midnight is have quite the impact on your sleep schedule; also you seem to have slept in your...street clothes."

William looked down and saw his plain white tank top and baggy jeans, "Oh yeah, must've passed out before taking them off."

He turned around and headed for downstairs, "Let's hurry on then, I've made us some tea, and you can make some toast for yourself."

William slid the curtains open and groaned; outside it was still dark, along with light rain, something that was a cat naturally was averse to, "Great..."

* * *

After a quick breakfast there was very little time for William to properly groom himself for academy; so he simply combed the fur that was visible outside his school uniform; which consisted of a dark blue suit, and a white dress shirt underneath.

Even with the disheveled appearance; William looked at the mirror above his drawer and gave a small smile, "Still good looking, what's new?" His medium brown fur and green eyes were fairly typical traits of a cat, but he himself took good care of himself to make sure he had the "pedigree" look that upper-class felines maintained; something that he inherited from his father; which the rabbit also maintained a professional, even posh look. Even early in the morning, his father would be seen already in his suit for work.

William knew his father wasn't from Zootopia, but as he described it as "across the pond", which the cat found a little bit sarcastic sounding, considering the "pond" was instead the Antlantic Ocean.

"Let's see...aha!" He spotted the dry conditioner used for his fur to achieve that healthy, shiny look that was considered desired these days by mammals in his age group; though his father objected, as he felt it made him look "too soft". Ironic, William felt, considering his dad had himself the enviable soft fur of a rabbit.

He went through his phone and selected the music app; "Let's see...oh yeah, this one should work." Instead of playing through the phone speakers as he expected, the phone instead connected to his wireless speakers in his room; and at full volume rap music echoed through the room.

"Crap! Turn off!" he said desperately to press the pause button; but nearly instantly his father zoomed into his room, one of his traits as a rabbit and pressed the power button on his speaker.

William looked at the annoyed rabbit and chuckled, "Haha...uh, whoops." His father thumped his foot on the floor, "You trying to get us kicked out of the neighborhood? I'm afraid the rest of the neighborhood aren't fans of this rubbish that you listen to."

Despite William being a head taller than his father, and with him being a natural predator of his father's kind; he still preferred not to invite the wrath of a rabbit that did happen to exercise and practice fighting styles.

" _Rubbish_? Dad, this kind of music is popular in Zootopia. Even where you're from I heard its popular too!" the cat explained.

"You shouldn't be trying to emulate the lifestyle that this _rubbish_ promotes, lest you end up dead in a ditch in a ratty neighborhood." The rabbit shot back.

"Dad, don't say ratty...that's specist." William said awkwardly.

"Sorry. I've let my tongue slip a bit, but that doesn't change anything."

"Well, the kind of music you listen to is really boring; like I want to jump off a bridge boring." William retorted.

The rabbit frowned, "Its for relaxing myself at work. Anyways, I saw you were rubbing your left leg again; I take it's hurting again?"

William gave a nervous chuckle, "Come on it's fine, just a little sore that's all."

His father looked at him with some concern, "Don't push yourself to act tough. Well then, you're going to be late, and I'm not going to get another letter from the academy."

* * *

The two took the rabbit's car and sped off towards the academy.

"I don't understand why I can't have a car!" William said sitting in the passenger seat of his dad's car, with the news softly being delivered from the radio in the background.

"Well, there is the insurance, the maintenance, actually finding the right car for someone like you. Also, Zootopia isn't the most car-friendly city, and I'd hate to be driving around knowing there's a perfectly fine functioning public transport system."

"But Dad, I'm not a little kid anymore; it's embarrassing to be seen with you at school, and being 17 without my own set of wheels." He said, then taking a sip from the thermos containing the tea.

" _Currently, Officer Hopps and Officer Wilde of the ZPD are receiving an award by City Hall for the capture of a notable gang known for drug distribution in Tundra Town; "_ We realized that although we had indeed stopped an entire drug network, there will still be others that will pick up the slack, and we'll have to stop those as well in the future. Of course, the ZPD will to its fullest ability stop these dens of crime from threatening the peace of the city and uphold the law. Thank you." _That was Officer Hopps' statement towards the media just now. We'll provide further information as the police department releases more details about the operation."_

William tilted his head at the news, "Wow, those two had sure been working overtime to bring down these criminals; just think what the ZBI would be capable of if we chased those same guys."

"This sort of crime fighting is best left to the police. The ZBI is a little more 'bigger fish to fry', if you know what I mean."

"Well, when I join the ZBI, I'll stop those guys as well; us two, bringing down drug dealers. Doesn't that sound cool?"

His father sighed, "Well perhaps when you become an agent...if you become an agent."

"If? You sound like I'm not agent material." William said with some offense.

"Being an agent requires a certain level of maturity, responsibility, and knowledge...well, there's more, but that will come later."

His son smiled, "I'm a smart cat, you know that."

The rabbit shrugged, "Sure, but not responsible, or mature."

"I can be mature, look... _Father, it would be an honor to be offered an invitation into the ZBI, of which I'll hold to my utmost ability to perverse the law as a member of the organization."_ William said mocking his father's accent.

"Yes, you have the _speaking capability_ of a mature adult, but not the temperament of one. When the time comes, you'll know when you are ready to be an agent."

"When the time comes? That sounds pretty weird to say."

"Well, there are many things that come with being an agent; unfortunately, uncertainty is one of them. Don't be upset, but sometimes...things happen."

William looked at his dad with confusion, "Things happen? Okay, honestly, you're scaring me dad."

His father chuckled, "Sounded too ominous huh? How about this...the time will come to prove yourself that you indeed can follow in my footsteps. Maybe even surpass them." He tapped his paw against the steering wheel, "Well, hopefully just follow them." he said with a small laugh.

The cat scoffed at his dad's casual dismissal at his own abilities, "I'll prove it when I finish the academy then, I'll be the best agent the ZBI had every known."

"Quite the lofty challenge, but if you are so serious about being the greatest agent alive, I won't stop you."

Thanks to the rabbit's swift driving style, they arrived at the front gates of the academy with time to spare.

"Well then, here we are. And with just five minutes to spare."

William rolled his eyes, and opened the car door, "Gee, thanks."

"Forgetting something?"

The cat turned to find the rabbit smirking holding his backpack, causing William to smile awkwardly, "Oh, yeah."

"William, all that talk about you being an agent...I only do it, because you are my son; and I want only to make sure that you'll be ready for a hard life ahead."

The cat sighed, "Yes Dad, I've heard this like a million times."

"Of course...and remember, you'll always be part of my family, as a Savage."

The cat's tail dropped, "Uh Dad..."

His father realized the implication of that statement, "Oh yes, sorry...but you know how it is."

"Well, most people know that my name is just a name, nothing else." William replied to his father's statement.

The rabbit gave a warm smile, "Right. Off with you then, don't want to run into trouble again with the academy's faculty."

William chuckled, "Yeah, well...later Jack!" he said before running off.

Jack groaned, "I told you not to call me that!"

As he prepared to pull away, his phone rang; upon inspection it was the ZBI.

"Yes? This is Agent Jack Savage."

"Mr. Savage? We got a new assignment for you; and as you requested earlier, your son will be part of this mission as well."

The rabbit nodded, "Excellent, now, what is our assignment?"

" _I want to be strong, like you; but what if I hurt myself?"_

" _You'll be strong. Life is full of opportunity, and you'll achieve it with time."_


	2. Chapter 2

" _What's the ZBI?"_

 _"An organization that was founded to make sure that criminal activity doesn't grow out of control."_

 _"So you work for them? Isn't that dangerous?"_

 _"Very. But I joined the ZBI for two reasons."_

 _"Two? What are they?"_

 _"Well, the first was because I wanted to see what life was like in this so called city of equality."_

 _"What about the other one?"_

 _"..."_

 _"Dad?"_

 _"I'll tell you when you're older."_

* * *

William panted as he rushed inside St. Furancis's Academy, towards his first class of the day, which happened to be World History.

"Whew, one minute to spare..." he said to himself looking at his phone's time.

"Mr. Savage. Pleasure to see that you decided to actually class today."

William looked at his teacher and gave a flirtatious smile, "Well Ms. Barkley; I don't intend to let my favorite teacher down."

The female wolf smiled back in a professional manner, "Good to see that you realize the importance of attendance. Let's hope it extends to your work as well."

William's tail swished, "Of course, ma'am."

"Dude, you're the definition of a teacher's pet right now."

William turned to a male otter, who was a fairly close friend, "So what Jason? Just because she's hot doesn't make me a teacher's pet!"

Jason cringed a little, "She's like...ten years older than you."

"I'll be of age next year." William retorted.

"No bro, there's plenty of eligible girls in this school your age, and you choose someone much older than you."

The cat scoffed, "What's wrong with a little May December romance?"

"It's just a little creepy honestly; besides isn't there like a law that prohibits this sort of thing?"

" _If any rule is broken she can punish me all she wants..."_ William fantasized thinking about an 'after-class' discussion with the wolf.

Jason saw the cat devolve slowly into a creepy smile, "I would call the police if this age scenario was swapped; besides, she isn't into you anyways."

William snapped out of his fantasy, "Okay, I won't be such a little creeper." he sarcastically promised to his friend.

"Sometimes I wonder if there's something wrong with you." Jason commented.

As the lecture progressed, William grew bored and eventually shifted his attention to his phone; checking out his social media accounts and sometimes the news.

" _Hmm...reports of a break-in at Redwood and Winston; that's a block from my house."_ He thought of informing his dad about this later on; but a part of him secretly wanted to go on a little mission to capture the thieves himself, " _Couldn't be too hard, just borrow my dad's taser..."_

Sometimes during lecture, the cat would grow bored enough to imagine life as an agent; pursuing cases and completing missions with his father, hopefully to gain his approval as an equal.

"The United Mammal Nations settled its headquarters in Zoo York seventy years ago; and...Mr. Savage?"

The class turned to find the cat dozing off, William soon came to and noticed all eyes were on him, "U-Uh, what?"

Several snickers were heard throughout the classroom, "Are you feeling well? You seemed a little out of focus."

William attempted to recover by putting on a charming front, "Feeling fine Ms. Barkley, just a little tired from studying last night." He said with a wink.

"Ah, okay, as long as you're fine." She said still smiling before returning to lecturing the class.

William grinned, " _As long as you're fine too."_ he thought staring at her instead of the board.

* * *

Two classes, Calculus and Painting passed by fairly quickly, and soon Jason was at the outdoor courtyard inside the academy's complex, munching on a tuna sandwich he made earlier for his lunch.

William sat in a corner secluded from the rest of the crowd, only listening to his music through his earbuds; preferring to use the lunch time to relax during what was otherwise a fairly hectic schedule.

"Alone again I see."

William knew that voice and looked up with a frown, "What now, Noah?"

The coyote loomed over the smaller cat, "I thought I said you weren't allow here. It's my spot." The canine showed some of his sharp teeth in a growl.

"Why are you so adamant about this stupid spot? Is it like a coyote thing?" He said, knowing himself that cats also tend to be territorial.

"You must have a thick head, considering a scrawny pussycat like you couldn't even hold back against someone like me."

"What do you want anyways? Shouldn't you be busy with your girlfriend instead?" William questioned still being alert.

"For a little kitty cat that was raised by that ball of fluff you call a dad; you sure can talk. Since you decided that your dumb ass thought it was fine to come sit here, I felt that a lesson is in order." Noah said beginning to snarl.

"My dad isn't just some ball of fluff, I'm pretty sure he would kick your mangy butt into the curb if he heard you call him that." William said.

"Are you retarded? A puny rabbit is prey for us, I would hunt him down and use his fur as a blanket, and keep his foot as a memento. No wonder your parents abandoned you, they knew also that you are as dumb as a koala bear after falling on his head." The coyote taunted.

The cat found himself feeling a surge of aggression pushing towards attacking the coyote accompanied with a growl, but remembering his father's cautioning that him being a cat doesn't translate to strength; had to concede he would badly lose a fight with him, "Whatever, I have better things to do than mess with the _runt_ of his litter." he taunted back.

"What the fuck did you say?" Noah responded angrily.

The tense air was broken by another coyote, who was Noah's girlfriend calling out to him, "Noah! Come on!"

Noah snorted, "You're lucky, otherwise you would be down a life right now."

William continued to frown, "And you would've lost an eye, buddy."

The coyote left the vicinity, leaving the cat to continue sitting there for the rest of the lunch period, "Pussycat...he's the pussy." he muttered.

* * *

"March! Go! Go! Go!" A muscular meerkat yelled towards the P.E. class.

William huffed as he maintained a spirited jog through the track just on the edge of campus; his father emphasized physical activity with the justification that for William; to be able to maintain use of his left leg, which was prone to pain and injury still, he must maintain the practice of stretches and jogging to keep it limber.

As a result, William kept ahead of the pack due to his expanded stamina from years of running since he was a young kitten, and even running for nearly half an hour didn't deter him from continuing to move when most of the rest of the class languished behind.

After the rest of the run, William arrived first, just ahead of the cheetah that would've typically been first. "How the hell are you first?" The cheetah questioned.

William grinned, "Stamina, slow and steady wins the race."

"How did you run for so long anyways, you're just a stupid little cat!"

"A cat raised by a rabbit, so I had a natural coach for running."

The cheetah huffed, "This doesn't seem right, I call bull!"

William chuckled, "You sprinted at the start, so by the middle of the race you were practically dying."

"Hmph..." The cheetah crossed his arms, "I'll show you fast next time."

"I hope so, a cat beating a cheetah looks weird."

"I'm impressed Mr. Savage. A cat typically would be middle of the pack; how's your leg?" The coach questioned.

"Its doing fine, running help keeps the blood flowing; that's probably why that numb pain goes away."

"Good, I had my doubts when your father told me about your condition, but it seems you should be fine. Now to wait for Quentin..." Referring to the sloth still only a quarter of the way down.

William spent the rest of the P.E. class laying down on the grass field relaxing the sun that broke through the clouds; and quickly began to doze off as the warm rays resembled the feeling of being in bed.

* * *

" _Are you lost?"_

 _"No, I'm here with my dad; we're buying stuff for dinner."_

 _"Him? But he's a rabbit. Unless he kidnapped you..."  
_

 _"What? He adopted me, he didn't kidnap me!"_

 _"This has happened before, an innocent predator cub is brought into a prey family; then they groom them to be prey sympathizers, and bring down their own!"_

 _"He didn't do anything to me!"  
_

 _"Don't worry, I'll call the police. You're safe with me."_

 _"Dad!"_

* * *

 _"William!"_

The cat snapped out of his nap, and saw the coach yelling out to him from a distance "Hmm...class is already over?"

"Yes, time to go back inside and change!"

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute!"

He stretched out every limb and unleashed a loud yawn, "Wow, what a nap. Wish it could've last longer."

At the locker room he changed back from his sportswear to his school clothes; he observed some of the larger mammals looking much more muscular than he was, as William was cursed to remain relatively thin, no matter how much he worked out; at most he had more of a toned body; it bothered him to no end.

"So my mom wanted me to go with to Cape Town with her for vacation, and I was like 'Mom! I don't want to go with you all the way to Cape Town, what am I going to do there anyways?"" a deer said to his friend.

"Dude, Cape Town's know for its parties, plus there are those antelopes...heard they like it rough." his friend, a raccoon commented.

"Hmm...maybe, Spring Break is in a couple of weeks. What about you, Will? Got anything planned?"

William was a little surprised at the question, "Me? Well..."

Every year during Spring Break, Jack would take his son back his home country; though William stuck out from the crowd being raised in Zootopia, even if the cat was familiar with the customs of the foreign nation.

"Guess I'm going to Europe with my Dad." he said shrugging.

"Europe? Heh, going for the European ladies aren't ya?"

William wanted to roll his eyes, but in honestly a male his age had thought of chasing tail overseas, "We'll see, if anything happens, I'll let you know." he said with a wink.

* * *

Soon the end of the day arrived, and William sat out at the front; as usual waiting for his father to come around in his car and take him home. Expect today, Jack was being late.

The cat was beginning to be annoyed after waiting several minutes, "What's taking him? Better call I guess."

His phone rang several times before being sent to voicemail, "Okay, that's weird, normally he doesn't miss my calls."

Walking home would take at least an hour, something that seemed daunting for the cat.

" _For fox's sake..._ " he thought staring down the road.

Suddenly he phone began to vibrate, quickly bringing to his attention, the phone number didn't contain Jack's name, but he still answered it.

"Hello?"

" _Well, if it isn't William Savage!"_ a perky, yet elderly voice greeted.

"Who's this?"

" _For now, I can't disclose my identity, but I can say I know your father."_

"Wait, are you from the ZBI?"

" _Quick to realize, eh? Good. I apologize for the fact that your father isn't currently able to reach his phone."_

 _"_ So, what is it?"

" _First, will you accept this assignment being handed to you?"_

William gasped, "Wait what? Really? You're offering me?"

" _Do you refuse?"_

 _"_ No! Of course I accept, thank you so much sir but I-"

" _I'm flattered, but really it was your father who pulled the strings for this opportunity."_

 _"_ Thank you so much...what should I do then?"

" _You'll be briefed at the ZPD headquarters, I recommend bringing in your suit that your father provided you."_

William remembered it, "The black one?"

 _"Yes, and then you'll meet with the chief of police, and he'll provide you help. In any case, since this your first mission, Jack will be doing most of the heavy lifting; think of it as a sort of shadow apprenticeship."_

"The chief of police? I mean, wow, that's..." William suddenly was thinking back to what Jack taught as 'diplomacy'.

"Do I need to go there now?"

" _That would be preferred yes. Now then, I must go. Your father should join up with you at some point."_

 _"_ Okay, thank you, bye."

" _Good luck, Mr. Savage."_

After putting his phone back in his pocket, he immediately realized he still had no transportation.

"Now how in the hell am I suppose to get there anyways...wait."

After a few minutes a gray car pulled up on the driveway, the driver rolled down the window, "Are you William Savage?"

"Yup, thank the gods for Zuber!"

"Seems like it. Need to get somewhere fast?"

"Yep, need to get home, Aberdeer and Winston!"

* * *

" _Dad. They're calling me a traitor and a disgrace to my own species."_

 _"Unfortunately, it seems that this sort of taunting will continue for as long as we're family."_

 _"One of them said that he'll would kill us both."_

 _"Ha. Like I would let that happen, I'll protect you from this riff raff."_

 _"I'll protect you too!"_


	3. Chapter 3

" _Why do we have to do yoga? It feels weird."_

 _"Yoga is useful for relaxing and expanding your physical capabilities."_

 _"But trying to copy you is hard! You know all the poses already!"_

 _"Everything takes time to master, don't stress over something just because it doesn't come to you quickly. Now let's attempt the handstand, it'll be fun."_

Arriving home, William instructed the Zuber driver to wait outside his home, and he rushed to his room; "Let's see...black suit, here we go."

Since the cat was used to wearing suits, the switch from his blue school one to the agent black one was a quick affair; he smiled at the tailored fit around his body; and made him looked quite professional compared to the blue suit.

He decided to fit into the agent look better and grabbed his pair of black sunglasses; he approached the mirror and straightened up his posture, " _Hello, I am Agent Savage. William Savage."_ he said imitating the same tone that his father used when introducing himself as a ZBI agent to others.

He could feel his self-confidence swell; and with it, all doubts were being washed away with the determination to prove himself worthy for the title.

Arriving at the Zuber, he climbed inside the car, "Step to it, ZPD headquarters."

"You got it, boss!" the driver said before stepping on the pedal.

* * *

"So, what do you our dear leader Bogo is going to make us do?" Nick said walking down with his partner, Judy Hopps down the hallway.

"Dear Leader? That's kind of a creepy nickname for the chief." the doe commented.

"It's a joke, what, you don't look at world news?" the fox teased.

"No, its just...whatever, anyways I have no clue."

"Let's assume the worst and he'll put us on traffic patrol for the week." Nick somberly predicted.

Judy smiled, "How's that the worst? Firing us would be the worst."

"I meant in the context of this job."

They both arrived at his door, "You talk to him Carrots, I'm still not sure he likes me that much."

"Hush, he's strict, but he knows that you're a good fox."

"A good fox? Wow Carrots, way to be sensitive." Nick sarcastically complained.

They entered the chief's office, and the cape buffalo sat there with his usual stern face, "Enter."

"You needed us for something?" Judy asked quite enthusiastically.

"Today, you two are accompanying an ZBI agent in an assignment."

"Ooh, sounds _so_ exciting." Nick said.

"What are you talking about? This case could make our careers!" Judy countered.

"I thought the Nighthowler case made our careers."

Bogo snorted, "Actually, I consider that more of a precursor of sorts; you both are in this job for the long haul, and cases like these will pop up."

"So, what do we got? Robbery? Murder? A kid ate too much ice cream?"

Judy speculated also, "I'm guessing car theft ring!"

Nick smirked, "Good guess, sounds about right."

"Actually, you're both wrong." The buffalo grabbed a dusty folder and plopped it front of them, "We're dealing with a rogue agent, she used to part of the ZBI; but now she's working for a foreign nation. And is known for being what we call a hired assassin."

Nick tensed up a little, "Uh? An _assassin?_ Bogo, you do know what an assassin is?"

Bogo nodded, "Perfectly well, Officer Wilde. I don't see why this bothers you, considering there are many criminals that would be willing to kill an officer of the law."

Judy shared her concern as well, "But sir, should we really be pursuing this sort of case with the ZBI, this sounds a little out of league."

"I don't have time for wishy washy questions. I need to know, are you in or out?"

Nick sighed, "Well Carrots?" he said looking at the doe.

"I say...we're on the case!" she said with her characteristic confidence.

The fox shrugged, "Well, if she's game, guess so I am."

"Good." Bogo simply stated.

" _Chief! The agent has arrived!"_ Clawhauser informed through the intercom.

"Send him up."

" _Yes sir!"_

Nick grinned, "Wanna play guess the species?"

"Nick! That's offensive, we shouldn't speculate the agent's identity like that!" Judy scolded.

"I'm guessing a mean old tiger. Or a sophisticated mouse."

Judy groaned as Nick continued to list off potential species.

Bogo noticed the shadow at the door, "Well, here's your answer."

The duo turned around and met their eyes upon an unexpected greeting.

The brown cat stood there in his sunglasses and suit, "Good afternoon." he said with a formal tone.

Nick moved closer to Judy, " _Carrots, this is a kitten."_ he whispered to her.

" _Nick! Don't say that, maybe he's just young looking!"_

The fox smiled at the newly arrived mammal, "Pleasure to meet you, Mr?" he greeted holding out his paw.

"Savage. William Savage." the cat introduced, shaking the fox's paw.

"Uh, how old are you? If you don't mind me asking." Judy said a little nervously.

"17."

The doe's smile slowly disappeared, "Oh..."

Nick wasn't favorable to this young cat's apperance either, "Chief! Is this some of kind of joke? We're aren't trying to apprehend an assassin with a _minor_!"

William was taken aback by both of the officer's opposition to his presence, but maintained his poise, "Is my age a problem?" he inquired, tail irritably swishing.

The fox frowned at him, "What do you think? A supposed agent of the ZBI turns out to be just a kid!"

The cat has taken abuse for his youth before, but to be slapped down so dismissively by a fox only further angered him inside, " _Just a kid huh? I'll show you who's a damn kid, stupid fox!"_

" _Sir, there's another person here, he's claiming to be your visitor!"_ Clawhauser announced through the intercom.

"Yes, send him up also."

The fox groaned, "What? Another one? This is ridiculous!"

Judy patted her partner's back, "Let's not blow a fuse, we'll just deal with what we have."

"Deal with it? Carrots, I can't believe that you're fine with this little cat working with us!"

"I prefer if you refrained from insulting my son."

All eyes pointed towards the buck that made his appearance, and William smiled happily, "Dad! You're here!"

The two hugged each other, "Sorry to be late, guess my chat with my boss took a little longer than I was expecting."

Nick was confused now, "Wait. You're family?"

Jack nodded, "Yes, William is my _adopted_ son, and with that I request you give him respect; and same for you William."

"Sure, whatever..." William replied disregarding his dad.

"This is going to be fun isn't it Carrots? Judy?"

Nick noticed the doe was looking quite interested in Jack, "Hey!" he clapped his paws in front of her face.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, kind of got lost for a second." she said a little embarrassed.

Nick instantly knew was going on, "Is Officer Judy Hopps enamored with this ZBI agent?" he teased.

"N-No! I was just checking him out! I mean-"

Jack chuckled, "It's fine Officer Hopps, I know you didn't mean to look at me so intently."

William stuck his tongue out, "Bleh, it sounds so weird that someone is crushing on my dad."

"If we can get back to business at paw?" Bogo reminded the group.

The buck nodded, "Yes, I believe you were informing your fine officers about the mission?"

The buffalo handed him the folder, "All the things you need to know are right here."

"Yes excellent, combined with my agency's intelligence this should be relatively easy to handle." Jack turned to Nick and Judy.

"You two. I've seen you solved the Nighthowler case, nice work." He said with a friendly smile.

The fox grinned, "Well, with my cunning and her...determination we saved Zootopia from the clutches of an evil sheep who was determined to undermine the peace, stability-"

Judy cut him off, "I think he gets the point Nick."

William sat on the chair opposite of Bogo, "So, how did Nick become an officer anyways? Was it some kind of affirmative action program? Did he flip and narced on a criminal? Why is the fox even an officer?" he questioned.

Nick grabbed his shoulder with a firm grab, "Hey. Don't bring this anti-fox bullshit into our conservation. Got it?"

The cat tensed up, "S-Sorry."

Jack sighed, "I apologize for my son's disrespect towards foxes, I'm afraid he was exposed too long to the prey belief that certain predator species are...to be avoided."

"That's definitely a problem for me, if this kid's going to be an agent, I don't want him carrying negative beliefs of foxes with him." Nick responded looking at William like he was some strange experiment gone wrong.

William's behavior reminded Judy of Dawn and it too concerned her, "Agent Savage."

"Call me Jack."

"Jack, why is your son so anti-predator; considering he himself is a _predator?"_

Jack sighed, "It's my fault I'm afraid, William grew up with a prey for a father, and I didn't account for the fact that he would be surrounded by other prey species, thus becoming a bit cautious towards predators."

"Really? _Cautious?_ " Nick stared at Jack suspiciously, "Cubs aren't born with such nasty thoughts in their heads. Something you want to tell me?"

The buck closed his eyes and crossed his arms, "Well...I suppose at some point we'll have a talk about it, but for now we must focus our attention at the matter at hand."

Nick could only continue to frown.

* * *

The group received their instructions from the chief and soon were at the garage.

"Let's keep it simple for now, my son and I will be taking my car to the Albion Garden Hotel; where the ZBI suspects the rogue agent is holed up. You two will be our backup, if it goes south, you'll sound the alarm to the station." Jack explained sitting in his car.

Judy nodded, "Got it, we'll take the cruiser and park it nearby for support."

Nick yawned and stretched out his arms, "If its another stakeout, it's your turn to buy us coffee."

William tapped his father's shoulder, "Dad. Can we get something too?"

Jack chuckled, "We're about to head out on a important mission, and you want a drink? Quite callous to ask a question like that."

"Is that a no?"

"...well I am quite thirsty actually. Err...We'll pick up something real quick." Jack said admitting his wanting for a drink also.

Nick was amused at the seemingly steely rabbit giving in like that, "So much for being professional, come on Carrots, let's mosey."

"Yup! See you guys there!" she said before sprinting off to the cruiser.

"She's got spunk doesn't she?" William commented to Jack.

"It appears so." he replied with a smile.

" _Dad, you've been gone for a week. Where were you?"  
_

 _"Doing agent work, I've told you before."_

 _"But I hate it when you're not here. There's no one else to play with..."_

 _"I'm sorry William, I didn't intend to leave you alone like this. When you're older, I'll make it up to you okay?"_

 _"You sure?"_

 _"I promise with my lucky rabbit's foot!"_

 _"Okay Dad, I'll hold you to that!"_

 _"Heh, quite right you are."_


	4. Chapter 4

" _Dad, why can't I hang out with Louis anymore?"_

 _"He's a fox. And for your safety, you would do well to stay clear of them."_

 _"But why? He's one of the nicest guys I know!"_

 _"It doesn't matter, soon enough society will push him down towards an immoral life."_

 _"This isn't fair Dad! What about me, I'm a predator too!"_

 _"Yes, but the harsh reality is that associating with foxes will only damage your own standing. Stay away from them got it?"_

 _"Yes, sir..."_

The father son duo sat in their car, waiting by the front of the hotel entrance.

"This is so cool! Right into the action! Like you always said!" William said enthusiastically.

Jack mused whether or not to tell him, "William. This is going to greatly upset you. But you'll need to stay here."

The cat took a second to process his request, and a flurry of emotions flooded him, "W-What? But Dad! I'm part of this mission too!"

"I know, and it is admittedly a bit crass, but I'm afraid of your ability to maintain your calm."

"My calm? What's going to happen that will make me do stupid things?" The cat yelled to his father.

Jack produced a gun from underneath his suit, causing William to gasp, "U-Uh...Dad?"

The rabbit let out a deep breath, "If this mission goes the way I predict it would; she'll be dead."

"Wait. You're going to kill her? But isn't she just an agent?"

"Yes, and the unfortunate reality is that she'll have to be put down, since she went against the law."

William looked at the gun, something that he only saw in movies; the mere presence of the weapon caused him to shake a little.

"And you're going to shoot her?"

"I'll make it quick and painless, a shot to the head. Most effective way to eliminate a target without fuss." he stated.

The cat realized at this moment that his own father had killed others before, and suddenly the image of the soft, caring father that raised him began to crumble.

"D-Dad...you shouldn't kill her?"

Jack ignored his son's request, "Listen to me. She's killed several other people before, if I don't stop her, she'll continue to murder."

Nothing was going to sway the buck's mind, the cat felt hopeless right there.

"This is the life of an agent, hard decisions must be made. It's not all paperwork and landing bad guys in a cell."

Jack opened the car door, "As I said, stay here. I'll be back soon."

William wanted to tell his dad to call off the mission, but he knew he wasn't going to persuade his dad. He sat in the car seat in defeat, "Be careful."

Jack nodded and gave a quick hug to his son, "I will."

* * *

"Here you go, triple shot non-fat vanilla latte. This doesn't sound healthy though." Judy commented handing the drink to the fox.

"Very much appreciate the concern Carrots, but it's fine, I need the caffeine to function correctly."

Judy took a sip of her own drink, a carrot spice latte, "Nice day to stake out isn't it?"

Nick noted the orange sky; resulting from the sun setting, which reflected its light off the looming skyscrapers.

"Yes is it, though it could be raining and it wouldn't really matter since we're inside a car."

Judy chuckled, "Guess you're right. So how long you reckon it will take those two to do the job?"

The fox shrugged, "Don't know, hopefully not all night, I would like to be in my comfy bed." Nick commented, thinking of his home.

Judy thought of a game, "Oh! How about we play I have never?"

Nick sighed, "Carrots, every time we play this game, it gets awkward."

"It doesn't! I'll start, I have never took a stroll in my pajamas."

Nick rolled his eyes and took a sip of his coffee, "My turn, I have never gotten drunk in a barn."

"Hey! I told you that story before! No fair!" Judy huffed.

"Take a sip or game's over."

The doe tsked, "Fine." she took a sip.

After several questions, they got rather personal.

"I've never...dated anyone outside my species." Judy said.

Nick groaned and took a sip, "My cup's almost empty."

Judy smirked, "Oh ho, you've dated someone besides a vixen? Who's the lucky lady?"

The fox shook his head, "Not going to tell you."

The doe feigned sadness, "Awww...such a party pooper."

"And you only dated bucks?"

"A couple...before I moved to Zootopia that is."

Nick's ear perked up, "Hmm? Not seeing anyone?"

Judy shook her head, and her ears dropped a little, "Not really, I've been busy with work, so the thought of a boyfriend sounds a little difficult to manage honestly."

Nick felt a little pity for the doe, "That sucks." Suddenly he felt like being mischievous, "How about that Jack guy? He looks like an eligible bachelor." he again teased.

The doe blushed, "W-What? Him? Nick, he's an agent, I'm sure he's also busy with his work, and raising his son." she sputtered, trying not to think of him.

"I thought rabbits like single fathers. You know, since rabbits naturally make big families."

The more the fox talked about him, the less the doe could try not to imagine the buck's dashing face, fit body, his rather tight pants showing off his-

"Carrots, earth to dumb bunny!" Nick yelled waving his paw in front of her face.

Judy grumbled, "Stupid sexy Jack."

Nick laughed loudly, "Haha! Judy Hopps has a crush on Jack Savage."

"Shut up!" Judy cried out.

"Judy and Jack sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!" Nick sang out.

"I swear to the gods!" Judy tried her hardest to punch the fox's arm, but unfortunately for the doe, it failed to deter him.

"Or is it f-u-c-k-i-n-g?" he continued.

Judy groaned, "Please stop it." she said covering her face with her paws.

"Don't worry, if you need 'attention', I'm sure Jack would be more than willing to escort you to his home." he suggested.

"I don't want to sleep with Jack for fox's sake!"

"You sure? He's sure to have plenty of stamina, being an agent and all."

The doe had enough she jumped up on Nick and grabbed his collar forcefully, "Listen, quit it now, or I'll shove this carrot pen down your stinking throat." she threatened.

Nick had to suppress a joke based off her threat and merely nodded, "Fine, I'm done." he said putting his paws up.

Judy frowned then let him go, "Good."

Nick loved to press on her buttons, but even he knew not to push her past her limits.

* * *

" _No matter what I do, my dad has to block me from achieving what I want. That's changing right now."_

William closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Okay, its just an agent, what's the worst she could do to me? Bored to death with facts about foreign countries?"

Part of him knew that he would be way of his league with confronting another agent; " _If this agent is as tough as my dad, I'm in a world of hurt."_

However, despite the self-inhibitions telling him not to go out looking for harm, his cocky side swelled up, " _Its easy, take her down, win your dad's respect. Become an agent, then women everywhere will want you."_

William grinned, "Oh yeah, after this, I'll be drowning in pussy...cats." he self-corrected.

He exited the vehicle and strutted right up to the hotel entrance, "Whoa, nice lobby." he commented the high end decorations.

He walked to the front desk which had a receptionist, "Sir, do you have a reservation?" He said noting the cat's appearance.

"Reservation? Uh..." The cat hadn't planned on actually getting inside, "Well..."

"You can't enter unless you have a room already registered to your name, or someone associated with you." the boar explained.

"Oh! Uh, Jack Savage?" he answered.

The boar looked it up on his tablet, "Let's see...there is a Jack Savage, for floor 5, room 17."

William lit up, "That's it! That's my dad!"

The boar raised an eyebrow, "You're kidding me right. He checked in a few minutes ago, and if my memory serves me, he was a rabbit. You're just a cat."

"Well, I never, I'll call him right now then!"

He grabbed his phone and quickly dialed his father's number; holding it up, " _Hello?"_

 _"_ Hey Dad!" William greeted smiling at the boar.

" _William? Why are you calling? I'm busy!"_

 _"_ Oh, uh...just making sure you're still alive, you know?"

The buck sighed, " _Honestly, you worry about me too much sometimes, I'm fine alright?"_

"Cool. So how's the hotel room?"

 _"If its not an emergency, I'm hanging up right now."_ Jack said quite annoyed.

"Oh, okay, sorry. Bye, Jack."

 _"How many times do I have to you not to call me Jack?"_ he said before hanging up.

The boar rolled his eyes, "Guess I can't really counter that, you know where to go, just make sure your father lets you in."

The cat grinned, "Thanks!" he said before rushing to the elevator.

The boar waited a second before speaking to his walkie talkie, "There's a cat here, claims to be Jack's son. What should I do?"

" _Let him have his fun, hate to ruin a kid's day."_

"Got it."

* * *

" _Why does he always call at awkward moments?"_ Jack thought sitting on the bed in his hotel room.

The rabbit stared at his gun, laying on the bed. He sighed picking it up, " _Is he afraid of me now? Was he always afraid?"_

The buck shook his head, " _I love him, but he's getting close to that age. He'll realize the truth, sooner or later."_

Every year, the thought of the inevitable time when William learns the dark secrets Jack held close.

" _He is my son, he will need to know. No matter how he reacts."_

He loaded the gun up, " _Its showtime."_

There was a knock on the door, causing the buck to gasp, "A minute!" He deftly hid the gun under the pillow, "Come in!"

The door opened revealing the cat, "Dad!"

Jack was in shock, "W-William?"

The cat smiled nervously, "Sorry to barge in like this, but couldn't let you have all the fun now could I?"

Jack's shock soon turned to anger, "William...leave now."

The cat was confused, "But dad..."

"William Isaac Savage! Leave now, or else kick you out myself!"

William's paws curled into fists, "Why? Is it because I'm just a kitten? That I'll get stomp on? You think I'm just useless garbage!"

Jack's nose twitched, "Will..."

"What? What are you going to tell me now? That I should go home?"

"No. I want you to stay here."

William stood still for a moment, "You're serious?"

Jack nodded, "You want to be an agent so bad? I'll show you what being an agent is all about."

The rabbit grabbed the gun and walked out of the room, "Follow me. We're going to bust a rogue agent."

William became instantly excited, "Hell yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" he said following his father.

A few doors down the buck stopped, "She's in here...stay behind me."

The cat nodded, "Got it. I'll be your backup."

Jack cocked the gun, and knocked on the door, "Room service!"

" _Yeah, come in!"_

The buck opened the door, and aimed the gun at where he thought the target would be, but to his surprise, she wasn't there.

William followed him inside, "I don't see anyone."

Jack frowned and looked around, "I smell her, but I don't see-"

Suddenly there was a whistling sound and a yelp from the rabbit, "What the?" he pulled at the sharp object, which turned out to be a dart.

"Shit..." all he managed to say before collapsing.

"Dad!" William rushed to his father and held him, "Wake up!" he said smacking the buck's face.

"Well, aren't you a cutie!" a feminine voice said behind the cat.

He turned and saw an arctic vixen, he gasped, "Wait! You're the agent!"

Despite her reputation as a murderer, she had a soft, almost gentle expression; while at the same time remaining friendly. Her clothes reflected it too, with her light blue jacket and dress underneath, she looked more a typical civilian doing everyday errands rather than out to murder another agent.

"You've really grown William! Glad to see Jack raised you right!" the vixen hugged him tightly, leaving him massively confused.

"D-Do I know you?"

She chuckled, "Probably not, considering the last time we met you were barely walking." The vixen had a bit of a country girl accent, which furthered her friendly demeanor.

"Barely walking? Wait a minute..."

"And look how tall you are! I got so many questions right now! Are you doing good in school? Do you have a girlfriend?"

William sputtered, being dotted on like she was a close family member rather than a stranger, "Could you let me go?" he asked in an almost demanding tone.

She giggled, "Sorry, got a little too excited. Whew, we need to catch up later on. Well then."

She looked at Jack, "Such a shame. Some things aren't meant to be." she grabbed Jack's gun, and pointed it at him.

"So long, old friend."

William gasped and leaped quickly at her, knocking them both down to the ground, "Stop it! Don't hurt him!" he growled with his claws out.

She smiled affectionately, "My! Such strength!" she then effortlessly tossed him off her, causing him to land on his feet.

"Why are you trying to kill him? He didn't do anything to you!" he hissed, ready to pounce again.

The vixen nodded, "True. But we both know he needs to kill me. And in the end, one of us will be alive, and one will be dead."

She grazed the unconscious rabbit's cheek, "I almost feel terrible for doing this. But I have no choice unfortunately."

"Well, it seems you love him as well; it would be rude of me to deprive a kid from his dad. Well, catch y'all later!" she said exiting the room.

William followed her, "Hey! Come back! How do you know who I am?" he yelled out to her, but she was gone.

Many questions flowed through his head, " _Who the hell is she? How does she know my name? And why was she so nice to me?"_

He quickly turned his attention to his tranquilized father, "We need to get out of here fast." he muttered struggling to pick up and drag the rabbit's limp body.

" _Dad, I saw you kissing that fox. What's going on?"_

 _"Nothing important, where I'm from its a common way to greet and say farewell."_

 _"Really? Because you did it mouth to mouth, for like a minute."_

 _"It doesn't mean anything."_

 _"But you said foxes-"_

 _"Disregard it! She's no one you need to know about. Got it?"_

 _"Dad, you're scaring me."_

 _"Let's just go home."_


	5. Chapter 5

" _Hey Dad, why can't we live here?"_

 _"What? In Wolverhampton?"_

 _"Yeah, the people here are nice, and its so pretty here!"_

 _"William, Zootopia is where you belong, you wouldn't be able to blend into the crowd, even with copying their accents."_

 _"Well I'll bring this cup we brought from the tea shop. I'll bring a part of Wolverhampton with us. To keep as a memory."_

 _"You know we'll be here next year right?"_

 _"Course! But I'll still miss this place, and this country."_

 _"Hmm, maybe I'll arrange something one of these days."_

William grunted as he continued to drag the still unconscious Jack down the hallway, "I thought rabbits were supposed to be _light_."

" _Ermm...William turn off the kettle, daddy's busy with your laundry..."_ Jack muttered.

The cat blushed, "Dad, shh! Don't let other people hear you talk like that!" he spoke to him, despite Jack being unable to respond.

" _...I don't want to go to sleep Mum..."_ Jack continued to mutter.

William rolled his eyes, "Nan's not here Dad, she's probably busy bowling with Granddad; or watching the 'Telly'" he said with a bit of humor.

The cat rarely saw his father asleep like this, previously it meant the cat would either do things he wasn't able to, like stealing candy or going in his dad's room.

"Where can those two officers be? They should be close."

* * *

Nick was busy playing a game on his phone, while Judy took the time to listen to some music to pass the time.

The fox looked over to his partner and smiled, "Whatcha listening too?"

Judy shrugged, "Piano."

Nick was surprised, "Piano? That's a weird choice to listen to right now."

"I'm thinking of buying a mini electronic keyboard to practice later." She admitted, imagining herself playing a few tunes at home or even at work.

"In that case, I'll bring my flute over and we could form a weird indie band."

"The flute?"

Nick nodded, "Yep, my mom gave me one after the whole scout fiasco, helped managed my sadness." he reminisced.

"I'm sorry. You still being troubled by that?"

He sighed, "Sometimes. But now, I got you Carrots. And that shows me that life can still be peachy. Or a blueberry pie."

The doe felt some warmth from his opinion, "Aww...the big, bad fox has a soft heart?"

"Shut it. You know it."

Suddenly a knock on the car window scared them both, Judy saw it was an exhausted William carrying his father.

"William!" she yelled opening the car door.

"Dad's been tranquilized. I don't know what to do, please you got to help him!" the cat begged.

Nick joined Judy, "Gee, what a way to show up. Let's see."

"Looks like the same stuff we use to apprehend criminals." Judy commented, checking out the buck's vitals.

The fox nodded, "Yep. Well, he'll be fine, it'll just take a while for the tranquilizer to lose its effect. We should keep inside the cruiser for safety."

He and Judy heaved Jack unto the back seat, "We'll need to return to the station asap, William you can drive your dad's car back." Nick commanded to the cat.

"What? But-"

"You _can_ drive right?" Nick questioned.

"Yeah, but isn't it dangerous-"

"You'll be fine, just don't let Zootopia's drivers get to you." Judy assured him with a wink.

"Uh, okay." he grabbed the car keys from Jack's pocket.

The two watched the cat walk back to Jack's car, "He'll be fine right?" Judy said with some concern.

They watched as William peeled out of the driveway, "Yep, kid drives like you."

"I don't drive like that!" Judy objected.

"Say that to my stomach, come on."

* * *

"Wow, Dad's car is _fast_!" William thought as he whizzed down the busy streets of Downtown; attempting to make it to the station before the others.

Jack gave several driving lessons to his son, ranging from driving according to the law like any other civilian, to driving in a more racing matter only when in an emergency or he happened to be chasing someone down, today he was following the latter driving style.

Were it not for the sirens behind from the police cruiser, William would most certainly would've been pulled over for a hefty speeding ticket.

"Let's see. Right on this light!" he quickly turned the steering wheel, and the car drifted slightly as he cleanly made his way into the next street.

The cat grinned like a mammal on a certain type of drug, and he cranked up the car's radio. To him, it felt like he was in a car chase in a movie.

The feeling unfortunately for him didn't last long as he drove so fast, it took no time for him to arrive at the precinct.

After a minute the rest caught up, with Judy also speedily arriving.

William smirked as they pulled up, "Took your sweet time."

"Hey, we have an example to show to the kids here!" the doe pointed out.

"Sore loser." he joked.

Nick looked uncomfortable, and after stepping out of the car he nearly hurled down his lunch, "Ow, my chest..."

Judy patted his back, "You okay?"

"Yeah, just need to settle down my stomach for a bit."

William noticed his father was strapped to the seat, still limp, "At least Dad's still okay."

Suddenly he had an idea. "Maybe..."

The rabbit and fox watched as the cat slowly walk up to his dad, "What is he doing?"

They then saw him slowly raising his paw, "Wait, is he really going to-" Judy questioned, but quickly it was answered.

A swift slap to the buck's face resulted in him gasping awake, "Ah! W-What?" the rabbit saw his son's face, "Why you little brat! I should get my belt and-" Suddenly he saw the two officers looking quite surprised, Jack suddenly changed his tone, "Err...I mean, thank you son."

William smiled and nodded, "No problem, I had a hunch it would work."

Jack still felt some anger inside him from his own son hitting him, but had to put it aside for the meanwhile.

"Wow, I forgot cats did that, pretty ballsy to hit your own dad like that. My old man would've skin me alive." Nick said smiling.

"Well, I did it once before; when my dad was napping I tried to wake him up by calling his name. But he wouldn't budge, so I did a little smack on his cheek." William explained.

"You _slapped_ me, if I recall." Jack countered.

"Anyways, it worked. But he beat my little ass to the ground after. Honestly my dad had some anger issues when he was younger, but he's gotten much better about it."

Judy wasn't convinced completely and frowned at Jack, "That sounds pretty abusive if you ask me." she stated.

Jack sputtered, "Its just parenting! How else was I suppose to react?"

"Maybe a time-out would've been fine." Judy replied.

Nick also was suspicious, "Tell me William, did your dad has other episodes like this?"

The cat suddenly realized that the officers were being very interrogative now, "No! Don't get the wrong idea, he only acted like that because I was an asshole. He doesn't beat me whenever he felt like it!"

"That's what other child abuse victims say. Jack, we need to have a talk, now." Nick firmly commanded.

The buck wasn't liking the accusations, "Listen, I don't engage in abusive behaviors. Some parents choose physical punishment only when the child is misbehaving badly. I mean, if I didn't act whenever William acted out of line, who knows how he would've ended up! You two maybe would be arresting him right now for some felony!"

William held his father, "Dad, calm down. You're right, if you didn't do anything when I was younger, being an agent would've been totally out of the question."

"Are you sure you don't want us to look into it?" Judy questioned, "If he's hurting you, we'll protect you. Its our job."

The cat shook his head, "No, he's not hurting me. He's a good father okay?"

Jack took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, I once again am losing my temper. Let's go inside."

* * *

"So she got away." Bogo merely said.

"Yes, it is my fault. I take full responsibility." Jack solemnly replied.

William gasped, "Dad! Don't take all the blame! I didn't stop her either!"

Jack shook his head, "Don't say such things. She could've easily killed both of us. I screwed it up badly for us both."

"Don't put yourself down like that. Mistakes happen, at least you're both alive." Judy said attempting to console both.

The buck began to tear up, "I could've lost you..."

Nick felt uncomfortable, the thought of his own father disappearing when he was still young left a mark on him.

"Jack. Don't cry, he's here. And he'll continue to be here, right William?" The fox said to the cat.

William nodded, "Yeah, I'm not going anywhere Dad! I'll be with you the whole way!"

Jack sniffed, "Course you will. Sorry, I need to sit down."

His son smiled, "Take a break, you deserve it after today."

"William, we need to talk about her." Jack said to him as he sat on the chair.

Everyone in the room looked at him, "The agent?" Nick asked.

He nodded, "We have known each other since I first moved to Zootopia. And for a time, we dated each other."

Jack suddenly winced, "We actually planned to marry at some point."

"But wait, Dad, you said we shouldn't talk to foxes."

Nick growled, "I knew it."

Judy grabbed his arm, "Cool it, let him talk."

"Anyways. The dating happened around the time I adopted William. She seemed ready to be his mother. But, it ended all too quickly."

William was interested in the agent, "Really? She wanted to be my mom?"

Jack smiled a little, "She said she wanted to help me raise you. However, I was called on a mission."

"How come we never met?" William asked, trying to remember her face.

"I didn't want things to move so quickly, we worked together on dangerous missions, and stayed in hotels together. But we never met in my house, hence why you never saw her. But I showed photos and even a video of you, so she knew about you quite well."

Jack pointed at the ring on one of his fingers, "This. This was all that remained from our relationship."

"You still love her too?" The cat asked, still trying to process this information.

"As much as it pains me to say; yes, I still love her as well." Jack affirmed, clutching the ring in his paw.

He looked away from his son, "The mission...involved us, but after it was completed we had a falling out. She saw things differently then I did, and after an argument, we never talked to each other again. At least, not until yesterday."

"Yesterday?" Judy asked.

"I told her I was to kill her. That it was my assignment from the ZBI, obviously she didn't take it well."

"What did she say?" she continued to ask.

"All she said was ' _Its okay, please keep William safe.'"_ he recited from their earlier phone call.

"Really? She was _okay_ with it?" Nick commented.

"Yes, it seems quite counter-intuitive on her part to say that." Bogo chimed in.

Jack gritted his teeth, "I knew from that sentence that she still loved me still."

"Dad. She was happy to see me, does that mean she still loves me too?"

Jack smiled, "Course. Otherwise we both would've been dead."

"She said that we would meet again."

"Well, next time we do. It'll be our last." Jack said, crossing his arms.

Nick scoffed, "So, first you teach your son that foxes are bad. Then you go bonk one? You sir, are a hypocritical asshole."

"I deserve that insult, whatever you have to say, let it out." Jack accepted.

"Oh ho, where to begin on your pompous ass?" The fox said smirking.

Judy had enough, "Nick! Jack! Shut up now!"

They both looked at her in shock, "We're on a mission to stop a murderer! If you two are going to start bickering, I'll go it alone."

"Carrots..." Nick whined.

"I agree with her. Dad, if you won't make up with Nick. I'll do this with Judy instead."

Jack frowned, "You will do no such thing!"

"Watch me." William spoke back defiantly.

Nick and Jack looked at each other, "Don't think this is over. I still want to talk about your piss poor attitude towards foxes." Nick said.

"Yes, _after_ we stop the agent."

"By the way, you never told me her name." William reminded Jack.

"Skye. Agent Skye."

" _Dad, what's this statue?"_

 _"Ah, Peter Rabbit."_

 _"Why is he famous?"_

 _"Just a little tale told to all rabbits in my homeland."_

 _"Is there any statues of cats?"_

 _"Uh, well..."_

 _"There's none?"_

 _"O-Of course! Hey, don't cry."_

 _"Do people hate cats? Are we like foxes?"_

 _"Who told you such terrible things?"  
_

 _"..."_

 _"I don't hate you. I think you're a wonderful child. Don't let such rubbish discourage you, ever."_

 _"I'll try."_


	6. Chapter 6

_**So, at this point the story will be truly a rated M story. So all the warnings that come with a M rating are here, anyways, enjoy the rest of the story :)**_

*Seven years earlier*

Jack sighed as he put his shirt back on, and re-did his tie, "We should get a move on, the target will be leaving the embassy in about an hour."

"Aw...but being with you is so comfy." Skye said as she hugged his waist.

He blushed, "I know, but we have business."

She pressed her bare chest against his back, "Come on. One more time? A quick one?"

Jack felt her paw reach down his pants, "It'll take about an hour to prepare for-" he stiffened as she brushed against his member.

She licked her lips, "Come on. Please, for me?"

Jack shuddered, for a rabbit like him, a fox normally meant danger. But for him, it was an erotic thrill.

"Perhaps we have a little spare time." he said reaching for a kiss.

Suddenly his phone rang.

He grabbed it swiftly, "Hello?"

" _He's here, make yourself ready."_ an anonymous voice spoke.

"Roger." he hung up.

Jack sighed, "Sorry dear, another time. We have a target to eliminate."

Skye pouted, "Such a tease Jack, how am I suppose to be satisfied when my bun bun isn't here?"

"Your 'bun bun' will be here after we complete our task. After all, it'll feel more satisfying after we accomplish our mission."

The arctic vixen grinned, "You're right. Let's nab us our reward."

* * *

The two left their hotel room, and walked down in their formal wear to the embassy, "He'll leave the building into an armored car. In that interval, we'll need to capture him." Jack explained.

Skye smirked, "Leave it to me, capturing's my specialty. Look who captured you."

Jack rolled his eyes but with a smile, "Yes yes, let's do it."

The chauffeur awaited in the car, waiting for the person to arrive, while two security officers waited outside the gates.

Jack casually strolled up to the car, "So much for security, _two_ officers? What an insult for both of us."

He waved towards the two, "Evening gentlemammals, spectacular weather we're having."

The two officers looked suspiciously at the rabbit, "Do you have authorization to be here?"

Jack rummaged through his pockets, but showed only empty paws, "I'm afraid I don't, apologies."

Skye suddenly sprinted from behind them and swiftly knocked out of one them with a elbow jab at his neck, which alarmed the other officer.

"What the? I need backup-"

He was silenced by Jack who leaped up and knocked the walkie talkie out of his paw before using his strong legs to knock him down to the ground.

"Gee, little overkill isn't it, honey?" Skye commented on the unconscious officer.

"Not really. I could've snapped his neck if he was particularly restive." Jack commented. "Shall we?"

They both approached the car, and Skye waltzed to the driver's window.

She gestured him to roll down the window, "Sir, if y'all would be so kind, we need to commandeer the vehicle."

The dingo was confused, "What for?"

She brandished a gun and pointed his face, "Just get out the car."

He got out with his paws up, "Please don't hurt me!"

Skye chuckled, "Course not, bullets cost money, and wasting it on a cutie like you would be a shame."

Jack got in the back seat, "Well, this is comfy." commenting on the space.

"Not a limo, but perfectly serviceable for what's necessary."

Skye took the dingo's hat, "Enjoy it, most cars aren't build to have that much space."

After a moment, the target arrived, who was a kangaroo.

"Ah, and here's our guest." Jack said.

Without noticing the distressed dingo nearby, the kangaroo entered the vehicle.

"To the airport, my flight's leaving soon."

Skye smiled, "Of course sir, I'll make it snappy, won't I Jack?"

The kangaroo was confused, "Jack? Who's Jack?"

"Well, introductions should be given, but she's already said my name." he said with a smirk.

"W-Who are you?"

"Someone you'll be talking to for a few hours. Skye, would be so kind to drive to our destination?"

"Got it sweetie."

* * *

They arrived in a park far from where they kidnapped the kangaroo.

"Here are we, Mr. Savage." Skye announced.

"Mr. Cherry. Correct?" Jack asked the kangaroo.

"Y-Yes?"

"According to our intel, you are in possession of a thumb drive that contains the accounts of ZBI agents."

"That's not true!" Mr. Cherry objected.

Jack held up the thumb drive to his face, "When you lie, I get upset. _Very_ upset." he said menacingly.

Skye joined him, "He's a feisty one ain't he? His accent sounds a lot like yours." she commented.

"He's of the more...rambunctious type. I believe he used to partake in gambling." Jack said, "Now. Out of the car."

Skye opened the back door and dragged the kangaroo out, "He sure is a heavy fella!"

"Quite right. Kangaroo's are normally muscular and fit, this one though..."

They dragged him to a park bench and forced him to it by tying his arms to the bench.

"Alright, here's the deal. We're going to kill you after our little conservation." Jack stated.

Mr. Cherry instantly began to panic, "What? You can't! I have family!"

Jack smiled, "Me too. Which makes this even more shameful unfortunately."

"This isn't right! This is illegal, you'll be hunted down like the little rodent you are!" the kangaroo yelled out, hoping for anyone to hear.

Skye chuckled, "Well, just so happens that we have permission from the Zootopian government to neutralize targets, if necessary."

"Please! I don't want to die!"

Jack sat down next to the now crying kangaroo, "Okay how about this, we'll spare you, if you tell us where you sourced the thumb drive. We know someone has been tracking ZBI agents and crippling their operations by cutting off funding."

"That's it? Haha, I can tell you anything! As long as you spare me!" Mr. Cherry said gratefully.

The vixen moved behind the kangaroo and rested her paws on his shoulders, "Then tell us. These paws know how to kill, hon."

Mr. Cherry gulped, "O-Of course. I received the thumb drive from a leopard, he's named Johannes! He gave it to me because he wanted me to send to some uh...'customers'."

"And since your from the embassy, its safe to assume those customers are from other countries, correct?" Jack questioned.

The kangaroo nodded, "Oh yes, one customer was offering ten of thousands!"

"Profiteering off the lives of ZBI agents, and risking their lives? I should honestly shoot you in your fat head." Skye tsked.

Jack agreed, "It is indeed a heinous act. But, we have live bait for potential targets. What says you, Mr. Cherry?"

The kangaroo felt the grip from the vixen's paw tightened, "You don't need to ask me twice! As long as my family and I receive protection."

The rabbit chuckled, "We can arrange something. My partner and I appreciate your cooperation."

Skye let her claws run up his neck, "Just don't get any funny ideas. Else your family is going to have to find a new dad." she threatened.

* * *

The first 'customer' proved easy to find, but hard to capture.

"Jack, its a skunk. We don't have gas masks." Skye said.

The rabbit sighed, "Brilliant. We'll need to subdue him without allowing him release the smell."

"Why not just dart him?" Skye suggested.

"Wouldn't work, he need him conscious in order to get the info out of him."

The vixen thought on it, "Well, how about I just ask him?"

Jack's ears perked up, "Ask him? How?"

Skye winked, "Simple, I'll pretend to be the one giving him the thumb drive, and then I'll just ask him what he works for."

The simplicity surprised Jack, but he shrugged, "Sure, I'll be right behind you to make sure he doesn't cause trouble then."

Skye gave the thumb drive and approached the skunk's house, "Can you hear me Jack?"

" _Loud and clear. Let's see what this skunk has to say shall we?"_ Jack said through her earpiece.

The vixen knocked on the front door.

It almost immediately opened to reveal a rather nervously looking skunk, "You my delivery?" he said quietly.

She nodded, "Yup! Here's the thumb drive you asked for!"

The skunk looked relieved, "Yes. That's the one!"

"Happy to help. Anyways what do you need it for anyways, considering it has some important stuff in it?" Skye asked nonchalantly.

"Its none of your business miss, now hand it over."

Skye smiled, "Well considering I risked my tail bringing it over, I would it _is_ my business, sweetheart."

The skunk growled a little, "I said hand the fucking thing over!"

"My oh my, such a grumpy little guy. Tell me what you're planning to do with it or I'll just leave with it."

He snarled, "Fuck this." he produced a handgun, "Now hand it now, or I'll blow your empty head to pieces!"

" _He's going to shoot you Skye."_ Jack warned.

"Sheesh, talk about a tough crowd. Here." she threw the thumb drive over to him.

Catching it he smirked, "Dumb bitch, I knew you're an undercover officer. But unfortunately for you, you're out of a job-"

There was a ripple in the air and shortly after the bullet made contact with his head, and there was an explosion of red mist that sprayed nearly everywhere.

"Jack! It got on my shirt!" Skye complained.

" _Sorry darling, but he was a bit too close to make it completely clean."_

 _"_ Now we can't get information of him."

 _"It's fine, we'll get it another way. There are others waiting."_

Skye grabbed the thumb drive before the pool of blood could contaminate it, she sighed, "Another mess made by Jack to clean up."

" _What do you mean? I clean up after myself!"_ Jack objected.

The vixen chuckled, "Well, not including laundry, dishes, your room... "

" _Fine, you win. I'll be right there."_

After a short while the rabbit arrived at the house, "Well then, that's quite a lot of blood. We'll need to dispose of the body and remove the blood stains. Fortunately, I've got a cleanup kit ready in the car in case this sort of thing happened." His nose twitched at the strong smell it produced.

Skye looked at the dead skunk and whistled, "You've got a sharp eye Jackie, right between his eyes. I feel that the ZPD would not like to see this."

"They deal with tranquilizer guns at most, they don't use lethal force. Which is interesting, given that criminal use regular guns." Jack commented.

* * *

After disposing of the body and managing the blood, they sat down to take a breather.

"So how many now? Our tenth kill or so?" Skye questioned.

Jack lit up a cigarette, "Something like that. I don't keep track, I'm not the sort to brag about my kills."

Skye frowned, "Put it out, those things kill your lungs."

"I know. I'll quit soon, for William's sake. Just need something calm my nerves." Jack said taking a puff.

Skye grinned mischievously, "I've got a friend who can sell a different kind of smoke to help calm you down."

"I'm not smoking weed. Last time I need is for my son to smell that on me." the rabbit said.

"You're saying that if it wasn't for him, you would?"

Jack sputtered, "I smoked a joint in high school, and that's it!"

Skye giggled, "We should share one!"

"No, okay? I already am trying to quit smoking cigarettes, smoking weed isn't going to help."

"They'll legalize it in Zootopia one day, knowing how popular it is among the young." The vixen suggested.

"If I catch William smoking one I'll cut off his tail." Jack muttered.

"Harsh Jack, he's a little kitten. Just tell him that is he wants to, just wait until he's an adult."

Jack finished his cigarette, "Whatever. Come on, we knew to take the fat kangaroo back to the embassy."

" _Hey Dad, when are you going to teach me how to use a gun?"_

 _"You've been playing Paw of Duty again haven't you?"_

 _"I know real life and video games are different, but I feel like I can be good at it!"_

 _"Buying that game was a mistake."_


	7. Chapter 7

" _Dad, why do we have to go Mass every sunday?"_

 _"We're Catholics William. My family at least was, and so are you."_

 _"People make fun of me being Catholic, they said of course you're Catholic, because I'm a cat."_

 _"Its an unfortunate pun, be thankful your only problem is the pun itself, and not anything else."_

 _"It does sound weird though, and not many in Zootopia are Catholics."_

 _"Zootopia is a huge, diverse city. Of course not everyone is following their same religion, or any religion if they choose."_

 _"Am I a good Catholic?"_

 _"Of course William, and no matter how you choose to approach this later, I'll still love you."_

"You know Dad, my birthday's is two months from now." William reminded the rabbit as they both were sitting at the break room in the police station.

Jack took a potato chip from the bag, "Mmm...yes. 18 isn't it?"

The cat nodded, "Yup. 18."

There was a moment of silence, only to broken by a tearful Jack.

"In such a short time, my little boy's become an adult." Jack said with a hint of sadness.

William smiled, "Dad. I'm just turning 18, its not like I'm hightailing it out of your place as soon as possible."

The rabbit sighed, "Doesn't help that I'm only 30."

"That's the thing though, you're still pretty young as well. I'm pretty sure you'll find a mate to keep company with."

Jack rested his head on his arm, "Maybe...I don't see any potential mates though."

"Well...how about that officer Judy Hopps?" William suggested.

Jack thought on it, "I don't see it. She's not really my type, she's a little too energetic for my tastes. And I have a feeling that Nick fellow has some interest in her."

"Oh yeah, like you and Skye." William said pointing out the similarities.

"Perhaps. I'm not familiar with the ZPD's fraternizing policies, but they seemed to have a good work relationship."

Jack hopped out the seat and did a vigorous stretching of his back and legs, "Mmm...feeling sore, its nearly time for bed."

"Time to go then?"

The rabbit grabbed his car keys, "Looks like it."

The cat heard some footsteps approaching, "Someone's coming." he warned his father, with his tail pointing up.

Those footsteps belonged to no other than Nick, who came in for a quick cup of coffee before calling it a night.

The fox saw the other two looking at him rather cautiously, which quickly made himself annoyed.

"What? Scared to see a fox intruding in your personal space?" He spat out frowning.

Nick heard William growl a little, "What is it? Speak up what you want to say!"

Jack walked to William and grabbed his paw, "Settle down, he's a police officer. He's not going to cause trouble."

"Yeah." the cat said, but his swishing tail and dilated pupils spoke differently.

"Incredible, I've heard of predators growing up to hate their own kind; now I see why." The fox said walking around them.

Jack guarded his son, "We don't want trouble. We're working together okay? There is no need for distrust or animosity."

"Oh, we've got trouble Jack. One, I know you dislike foxes. Two, Judy seems to like you. But I don't trust you, at all." Nick explained.

"Ah, so my theory about you two is correct then." Jack said, still standing tall in front of William.

"What theory?"

"I speculated from your behavior that you developed feelings for your partner, but now you feel threatened by competition in the form of another rabbit." Jack laid out.

William remained alert, "Dad. We should leave."

Nick shook his head, "You're not going anywhere, I've put up with crap from others before. But now I'm done with being feared or hated."

Jack held his head down, "Seems like we've reached a contentious point right now. Tell you what, how about you and I grab some dinner, my treat."

The fox was perplexed, "Wait what? Dinner?"

William too was confused, "Dad?"

"I will not let this issue between interrupt our case William." Jack said.

The buck held out his paw, "I want to reintroduce myself to you."

Nick was suspicious, "Why are you being so nice to me right now? Is this some kind of sick joke?"

Jack shook his head, "No. Tell you what, I'll even show my casual side to you during dinner. Get to know each other on a more personal level."

"Heh, this causal you better be generous because I'm taking every penny out of you for this dinner." Nick smirked.

"Sounds like a plan, tomorrow night sound good?" Jack smiled as they shook paws.

"Sounds terrific, Jack."

* * *

Jack let Nick pick the restaurant of choice for the night, and to his surprise Nick went for a rather modest pub.

"Hmm...wasn't exactly what I planned for." Jack said as the two walked up to the wooden building.

"What's wrong? Too low class for your highness?" Nick said patting the rabbit's back.

Jack let out a little laugh, "Well, when I was younger I did frequent pubs back in Wolverhampton."

"Really? What? Had a little pint?" Nick teased.

"Used to get fucking _knackered._ " Jack reminisced. "One night I was kicked out for fighting off two wolves with a broken bottle. Bit of a faff honestly, one of them was treated at hospital for a stab wound damn close to the neck."

The fox's eyes were wide open, "Shit. You sound more like a sort of delinquent then this uppity agent."

Jack shrugged, "I was called Jack the Ripper. Err, not for killing...was that too much?"

Nick grinned, "Nope. Not at all."

The two walked into the establishment, "Nick!" a zebra barkeeper yelled out.

"Oscar! What's up!" the fox greeted back grabbing at a seat at the front counter.

"Damn, its been what? A week since you last came here? Brought along another rabbit with you? Do you have a thing for them?"

Nick shook his head, "Nope, this dude's offering to pay for tonight. So, tonight's on him!" Nick yelled out.

The entire pub celebrated, leaving the rabbit to sit there a little embarrassed, "Yes, well then..."

After a few drinks, both Nick and Jack were feeling buzzed.

"You know, you never tell me why you hate foxes." Nick asked taking a swig of his mug of beer.

"I don't hate them, its just that since I ended my relationship with Skye. I've been trying to other foxes because I didn't wanted to be reminded of her." Jack said nursing his own mug.

"So, how was she?" Nick asked, interested in Jack's personal life.

"Total sweetheart, would always shower me with affection, and was a supportive girl." the rabbit said with a wistful smile.

Nick was now really interested, "What she good in bed?"

Jack swirled his drink, "You really want to know?"

The fox nodded, "Please. I want to know that you're not just a square."

"She was quite _giving,_ also honestly a bit rough."

Nick gave a sultry smile, "She was an arctic vixen right? Have any pictures of her?"

Jack dug through his jacket pocket and pulled out a picture.

Nick whistled, "Damn, yeah, I would do her in a back alley like a dirty feral."

The rabbit sighed, "I ask you don't make such comments about her."

"Sorry, been a while since I was with someone."

Jack nodded, "Me too."

They sunk deeper into their drinking trousers.

The rabbit was tipsy and was swaying around in his seat, "When I was a lad, I would go to the backyard, and I would draw on the fence with chalk."

"Really?" Nick felt light-headed.

"There was this squirrel girl...so pretty. I would have dreams about her..."

Nick chuckled, "Hey, a rabbit in puberty is like the horniest thing in the world."

"She was pretty. But she ain't into rabbits, she said, "Why would I date a rabbit? You look funny..." Jack recited.

"Ouch, sorry buddy."

The rabbit groaned, "I didn't get lucky until I was 16. Did it with another rabbit, but it didn't feel special. I knew there that I wasn't a rabbit lover."

After some time, both were completely hammered.

Jack was sitting on Nick's lap, "I have to say...you are one _handsome_ foxie woxie~" The rabbit slurred with his vision blurring.

"Not as h-handsome as you Jackie..." Nick petted Jack's nose. "You got pretty eyes, and you're so soft..."

Jack began to cry, "In school they used to call me J-Jacqueline...because they said I looked like a girl..."

"Aww...shh...I'm here buddy, no one's here to tease you."

" _Get that pom out of me bar!"_ a random strange yelled.

Nick sighed, "Err...one did."

The fox had an idea, "L-Let's go to Carrot's house...she's probably lonely right now."

"Wait no...she's sleeping dummy..."

"She's got food though..." Nick grabbed Jack's ear and yanked it close to his mouth, "Food~ Jackie, food..."

"Y-Yes, I know."

"I'm broke...my wallet's at home."

Jack snickered, "Such a naughty little fox you are! Y-You weren't paying anyways!"

"Okay, I think you had enough to drink tonight." the barkeeper announced.

Jack nodded slowly, "Got it, t-take my card." The rabbit struggled to retrieve it from his wallet and place it on the counter.

The two waltzed down the sidewalk in the middle of the night.

"Wait for me!" The fox tripped and fell onto the ground, causing Jack to laugh loudly.

"Come on mate, let's go to her house. I'm hungry..." he said hiccuping.

* * *

By the time the two arrived at her house a few blocks down, Judy was fast asleep.

The sudden loud knock on the door scared her awake, "Ahh! W-What?"

" _Carrots!~ Let us in~"_ a very drunk Nick wailed through the door.

Judy sleepily drag herself to the front door, and upon opening saw Nick carrying an also drunk Jack.

"Why are you here so late?" The strong scent of alcohol burned her nostrils, "You two have been drinking?"

Nick stumbled in and dropped Jack on the bed, causing him to groan.

"Be a dear Miss Hopps, order us some takeout." The buck said rolling to his back.

Nick nodded, "Heh, yeah, make it snappy."

Judy was at a loss, but she decided it was better for them to stay than risk running into trouble, "Sure, I'll order pizza." she sighed.

Jack smiled, "Ah, good lad she is...I'll repay ya, soon as I find me card."

The buck observed her clothing, "Strange to be wearing on a t-shirt. Looks too big on ya."

"Its what I sleep in, besides I've got underwear underneath."

"Really? Can I see sweetheart?" Jack suggested.

Judy was disgusted by his request and promptly smacked his nose with a newspaper, "You ain't seeing nothing Mr. Savage."

"Fucking tease..."

Nick groaned, "Its hot in here, is the heater on?"

"Yer right it does feel stuffy..." He struggled to take off his jacket and then his shirt.

Judy looked away blushing, "Please put your shirt back on Jack."

"I thought girls like this kind of body."

Judy had a hard time trying not to sneak another peek, but her eyes betrayed her and despite her efforts she found herself taking in his toned upper body.

"O-Oh my...Jack go put on something please!"

Nick, not wanting to be outdone took of his shirt as well, "L-Look Carrots! I've been working out!"

"So you've been Nick, good for you..." Judy stared at his abs.

There was a knock, " _Miss Hopps? Your pizza is here!"_

Judy quickly opened it, "Cool cool, here's the money and the tip!"

The salamander looked over, and noticed two very drunk topless males in her apartment, "Uhh...am I interrupting something?"

The doe smiled nervously, "No, don't be silly." she retrieved the pizza quickly, "Thank you!" She said slamming the door.

"Guys, the pizza is here."

Nick quickly ran to her, "Thank the stars! I was so hungry!"

Jack felt sick, "Oh good I was-" he suddenly grabbed his stomach. "Shite..."

He rolled over to the trash can and promptly vomited.

"Great..." Judy said.

* * *

" _Its bath time William...don't hiss at me! I've told you earlier it was going to happen."_

Judy woke up off the floor, and to her surprise Jack was lying down right next to her, still shirtless.

" _It doesn't sting...stop crying."_ he muttered.

Nick was snoring on her bed, knocked out as well.

She groaned, "What did I do to deserve this?"

Taking a peek outside, it was clearly morning.

"Well, at least there's no work today. And Nick is here...safe and sound."

The fox twitched, and rolled in the bed.

Judy yawned and got up to use the bathroom down the hall.

Jack soon woke up with a stinging headache and a sore back, "Ugh...what in gods name..."

He observed the unfamiliar surroundings, "Where am I?" He looked noticing that he was shirtless.

"Oh dear, where are my clothing?" he looked around hoping to find them, but found only Nick sleeping on the bed.

Groaning trying to contain his headache he crawled to the bed, "Wake up Nick, where are we?" he said.

Nick grumbled and buried himself, "Leave me alone..."

The rabbit shrugged, "Whatever, guess I'll just nurse this hangover somehow."

Judy came back and found Jack was awake and suffering.

"Hangover?" Judy asked.

"Seems like it, probably drank more than I intended to."

"Need some water?"

Jack nodded, "Please, thank you."

He looked at the mirror on the wall, and touch his face, "My eyes...their red, did I drink that much?"

" _I haven't drank that much since I broke up with Skye."_ he thought, suddenly a horrific memory erupted from deep in his heart.

" _Dad? Are you okay, you look sad. Why are you looking at me like that? Dad...wait, stop! No Dad, please stop hitting me!"_

The buck gasped and fell to the floor, "Fucking hell. I forgot about that night..." he gulped, "Damn it, why now!" he yelled out burying his face in his paws, scaring Judy.

"Jack? What's wrong?" she said holding his arms.

"I'm not a good father, I'm...a monster." he silently muttered.

The doe was confused, "What? Are you feeling alright, should I take you to a doctor? You're not looking so hot." she commented his elevated breathing.

"Officer Hopps. I didn't tell you earlier, but you were right to suspect me of abuse." Jack said shaking.

"Abuse? But William and you said-"

"No. I didn't want to upset Nick any further, but he was right. I did engage in abusive behavior when William was younger. And the guilt from it tore me apart inside, so much I nearly quit being an agent." he admitted.

"Jack..."

Nick groaned loudly and lifted himself up from the bed, "Carrots? Jack?" he squinted trying not to hurt his head further.

Jack looked at the fox clearly upset, "Nick...I'm sorry, I kept a rather upsetting truth from you two and my son."

"What are you talking about?" Nick asked yawning.

"I'm the reason William was orphaned."

" _Dad, do you know what happened to my parents?"_

 _"_ _No, I've heard they were killed in a car crash, but the details are rather hazy."_

 _"But wouldn't I have known about it? Why did nobody tell me?"_

 _"Maybe you were too young to understand when it happened. But don't go worrying about it; its over. Their souls are resting."_

 _"Are they watching over me, like the priest said?"_

 _"Yes, I'm sure even now they still are here. Watching."_

 _"You'll look after me too right?"_

 _"...of course. As long as I live."_


	8. Chapter 8

While Jack was away still from the house, William busied himself with completing his homework on the dinner table.

The cat was used to his father being away for days at a time, so him being gone for the night didn't faze him in the slightest.

Jack taught William that the house was a safe area, and that normally no one would bother him as the neighborhood was rather notorious for being suspecting of outsiders.

He kept his phone by the books in case any friends wanted to chat, or if needed a cheat sheet for his homework, but instead it rang.

He snatched it up and read the contact info, "Hmm...just a phone number." He answered the call, "Hello?"

" _Hey William, its me, Skye!"_ she greeted through.

The cat took a moment to respond, "Skye?" he looked at his phone in disbelief, "Uh...how'd you get my number?"

She chuckled, " _I'm an agent silly! Hacking into communications is a basic skill you learn in this career path."_

 _"_ Yeah. So um, where are you then?" William asked a little nervously.

" _Just at home, eating some grub, just wanted to catch up with you on the phone!"_

Once again her casual friendliness caught him off guard, "I thought you wanted to kill me and Jack." he said questioning her true motive.

" _You still think that huh? Well my acting skills are top notch if I do say so myself. Anyways, you and Jack are cool with me, just wanted to make someone happy."_

William was even more confused, "Someone happy? Wait, who?"

Skye tsked, " _Some idiot with a bone to pick with Jack. Claims that he ruined innocent lives and must be taken down I don't know some weird thing like that. Figured I was the perfect girl to take him down, considering our previous relationship."_

 _"_ Did you tell Jack this?"

" _Couldn't. Now that the ZBI wants my head, and this guy wanting to kill Jack. Its gotten kind of awkward honestly. If we ain't careful, we're liable to being throw rugs within a couple of days."_

The cat panicked, "He's going to kill my dad? Who is this guy? I'll pick him off myself!" he growled.

" _Whoa, calm down there sweetie. We ain't killing no one, at least not this issue with Jack and I clears up. Besides, I'm not letting you throw yourself into danger like that."_

William clenched his fists, "But Dad..."

" _I know its hard. But you're still very young, and the world's not so forgiving towards children who think they're tough."_ Skye consoled.

"Can _I_ at least tell him?"

" _Probably not, he'll won't believe you, and he is justified in thinking that its some kind of trick. Poor Jack, he's stuck in a tough spot right now. If only I could help him..."_

Jack banged his fist on the table, "I can't Dad just die like this! And...I don't want you to die either." he cried out.

" _Aw, William don't cry."_

The cat sniffed, "I'm not! I just, I wish I could do something!"

" _Where is Jack anyways?"_ Skye asked.

"He went to dinner with this officer we're working with on this case about you."

" _Mm...so you're alone."_

 _"_ Yep. Just me."

" _Do you want to talk anyways?"_

William had nothing else to do at the moment besides the homework which was not inclined to do.

"Well...sure why not?" he shrugged.

* * *

Jack huddled in the corner desperately trying not to sob as he recounted his story to Nick and Judy.

"So, excuse the tears..." he apologized sniffing, "One of my first missions as an official ZBI agent was, to kill William's parents. Now I had my objections, but they were convicted of espionage and were suspected of harboring terrorist fugitives."

He thought back to when he was a younger, more unsure Jack, "This was 7 years ago. I believed that the ZBI created these accusations not because of any crimes they committed, but because they had documents that would expose some secrets that the ZBI rather not unfold."

Judy gasped, "The ZBI had them murdered? By you?"

Jack nodded, "I didn't realize until after I killed them both and searched their home did I find these documents." he frowned, "William was at school at the time. And no one told him the truth. Not me, or Skye, nor the ZBI. If they did, who knows how it could've turned out. He was certainly old enough to have the capacity to figure out what really happened."

Nick shuddered, "That's horrible. That poor kid."

The buck sighed, "Such is the dark reality of security policies and politics. At the time, I didn't question the ZBI itself, I thought it was imperative that these documents were to be destroyed and save the agency a world of pain. But then, I saw William for the first time."

The pain in his heart sharpened, "I saw him, he had no clue his own parents were murdered by me. And at that moment right there, I wanted to kill myself. I realized my error."

The kitten's innocent smile and his struggling walk was etched onto his mind.

Judy comforted the buck with a hug, "Its okay. You raised him right? You took responsibility in a positive sense, by raising him where his parents couldn't."

Jack smiled sadly, "Yes, but what I did he never deserved. And now, soon it'll be the end."

Nick froze, "The end?"

"It won't be long before William learns about it himself. And whatever happens next is up to him." He chuckled, "If I'm a betting rabbit. I'll go with revenge."

"He won't kill you! That's a ridiculous thing to assume!" Judy countered.

"William is a good person to be sure. But let's face it, he's already an adult. And he'll need to prove himself at some point. What better way then to kill his parents' murderer?" Jack solemnly stated, "He has all the reasons to do it."

"But, he loves you, isn't it obvious?" Nick pointed out, "He defended you, and you raised him."

"We'll see if that love holds up in the face of reality."

Jack got up and put on his shirt, "I'm going home. We'll reconvene later in the day. Location's up to you."

Judy held his paw, "Wait. Don't go, Jack! Listen, I know that what happened was terrible. But now, in the present, William is going to need you now more than ever."

Nick nodded, "Carrots is right. You're acting really stupid right now Jack. And its not the booze that's causing it. It's _you_."

The buck thought back to when he first brought William home.

 _"Wow! Your house is so big! And its so pretty!"_

 _"Yes, and now, its your home."_

 _"Really? Are you sure?"_

 _"Course, think of it as your first day as a member of the Savage family."_

 _"..."_

 _"Are you crying?"_

 _"N-No..."_

 _"Come here, I've got you. I promise I keep you happy alright?"_

 _"T-Thanks, Dad."_

Jack looked at the two, who were both smiling encouragingly at him.

"You're right, both of you. I have a duty, not as an agent, but as a father, and that's to protect my son from harm's way. No matter the consequences."

He closed his eyes, "Judy. Nick. Thank you."

* * *

" _So how's your father been doing? He treating you right?"_ Skye asked concernedly.

William shrugged, "He's been treating me pretty good. You know, dad stuff." he answered.

" _Thank goodness, sounds like Jack learned to control that little temper of his."_

The cat nodded, "You're right. If Dad had anger issues still, he would probably have pummeled that fox by now." he mentioned, thinking back to when Nick annoyed his father.

" _Count your lucky stars, I'm sure the police wouldn't appreciate one of its officers being attacked by a rabid rabbit. Jack's a fighter, he punches above his own weight."_

William did admire one thing about his father; Jack's rather unusual strength for a buck ensured that he could hold his own against much larger foes, and assuredly win without much injury.

"Dad probably would've been like a boxer if didn't become an agent honestly."

Skye giggled, " _He does have a thing for using his paws, if he can't use his gun. Have you ever seen him fight?"_

The cat tried to remember, "Let's see...nope, I've seen him with a punching bag before. But's that it."

" _Well, I'm sure he's a good enough father not to get you dragged into situations where he needs to fight like that."_

Jack laughed, "Ha, yeah, totally. Dad is pretty protective of me for sure."

" _He better, else I'll talk to him myself."_

"Heh, you do that, anyways I gotta go, homework to do."

Skye huffed, " _Aw, oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do."_

 _"_ Yeah, I guess I'll talk to you later then Skye."

" _Of course. And William. Jack loves you, don't ever forget that."_

William blushed a little, "Yeah, I know. Bye."

" _Stay safe."_

The cat put the phone down and sighed, "That was weird, Skye seems to really care about me. But Dad did say she wanted to be my mom." He looked at a picture on the table of him as a kitten and Jack smiling together. "Why couldn't she?"

* * *

\- Several years earlier -

"Dad, why don't I have a Mom?" William asked.

The kitten's question threw the rabbit off guard, "Uh well...see the reason is...uh." Jack cleared his throat, "Its...complicated."

"What's complicated about having a mom? My old mom and dad were there. And you're here." the kitten huffed.

Jack hung his head down, "Yes. I suppose you're right on that. But, its different right now."

William ran over to him, "Dad, I want a Mom." he demanded.

Jack looked to the fuming kitten's face and instantly he felt a surge of warmth, "I know you do William. But for now, just having a Dad is enough for you right?"

"I guess." The kitten said looking quite sad.

Jack hugged him, "Well for now, this is definitely enough."


	9. Chapter 9

"Nothing is more important than family at the moment for me." Jack said to Nick and Judy as they stood outside Judy's apartment building.

The fox crossed his arms, "Good to know you're not about to keep crying over your past."

Judy nodded in agreement, "We're here to support you alright?"

"Thanks, I'm going to need it." He looked out across the busy street, "Let's grab a quick bite shall we?" he suggested pointing at a cafe.

"Sure, I'm game. Carrots, what do you say?" Nick said smiling at his partner.

Judy smiled happily, "You read my mind, I'm feeling pretty peckish right now."

The trio made the short trek to the cafe and sat themselves down at a table in the corner as not to arouse unnecessary attention from others.

"I should call William, let him I'll be a little longer." He retrieved his phone, but noticed the battery died, "Oh perfect. Well, I assume you don't happen to have a charger on either of you?" The buck asked.

The fox shook his head, "Nope, different model, can't help you, how about you fluff?"

"Nope, sorry Jack." the doe answered with her ears flopping down.

The buck sighed, "Figured as much. Well, William's a grown responsible adult, he can take care of himself fine until I return."

A female Jackal came up to the group, "What will it be this lovely morning for y'all?"

"Slice of blueberry pie, hash browns, and a cup of coffee." Nick ordered.

"I'll have a carrot cake, an apple, and some orange juice, please." Judy asked.

"Just some toast with strawberry jam, and a cup of tea; make it Earl Grey, thanks sweetheart." Jack said.

The jackal giggled, "Yes mister. Coming right up!" She said blushing.

Jack was used to some mammals being charmed by his accent, and he rolled his eyes.

Nick grinned, "Say, a lot of girls seem to like you Jack, why don't you ask for her number? Considering you seem to have a thing for predators." he teasingly suggested.

Judy groaned, "Nick, cut it off, we're not here to scout potential girlfriends for Jack, we're on an important mission, right Jack?"

The buck sat there looking a little bored, "Yeah, Judy's correct. Shouldn't be chasing some birds right at the moment. Besides, she looked too young for me."

Nick took a gander at the jackal, "Mm, I guess you're right, she could be still in school."

"Nick. Don't do that, it makes me feel uncomfortable when you stare at her." Judy said noting the fox's demeanor towards the jackal.

The fox looked quickly back at his partner and chuckled, "Don't worry fluff, I'm not going to perv on a possibly underage mammal. You could cuff me right now if you really think I would do things like that."

Jack cleared his throat, "We should start planning our next move right now, Skye's probably on the move, and she will not wait for us."

The fox's tail twitched, "Jack's right. Who knows what's she doing now, maybe causing more trouble as we speak."

The food was delivered to their table, "Here you go! And let me know if you need anything else!" she cheerily said, specifically towards Jack.

The buck shuddered a bit, "I hate it when they do that." he said as he spread the jam on his toast.

"Is our city's hospitality too much for you, your Highness?" Nick sarcastically asked.

"As you said earlier Nick, she looks a _touch_ young to be flirting with adult men like me. Well, that's the price to pay when they watch shows from my country. Getting the impression that we're some kind of royalty to be hitched with. Their parents should have a talk to them." Jack tersely stated taking a sip of his tea.

Judy laughed, "It's the same at my house, some of my siblings are _so_ into rabbits like you Jack. I'm sure you wouldn't last a single day at Bunnyburrow without a hoard of them trying to marry you."

Her story made Jack winch, "Is that so? Remind me not to visit your hometown then."

"Trust me. You're better off not going, Judy having a fox as a friend drew way too much attention to us. I can still hear the mass hoard of bunnies rushing towards me." He said, shaking a little in fear.

"My family's not that bad! They just aren't used to strangers like you Nick..." Judy meekly retorted taking a bite of her cake.

"Err..."

" _Hey, Judy's here! And she's brought herself a fox!"_

 _"_ _Nick, we should run."_

 _"Way ahead of ya."_

 _"_ Yeah, keep saying that Carrots." he said taking a big gulp of coffee, before gasping from the still hot liquid burning his tongue.

Jack swiftly moved to Nick's mouth, "Nick! Calm yourself man, its just coffee. Let me get ice."

The fox huffed trying to cool down his mouth, "Crap! Crap! It's so fucking hot!" he said airily.

Judy held his shoulders, "Nick! You're okay! Just breathe slowly, there. Like that!"

Jack returned with a cup of ice, "Here."

Nick took a few cubes into his mouth and instantly the pain began to die down, making him sigh in relief, "Thanks, Stripes."

The agent was confused, "What? Why did you call me that?"

"Your face, it looks like stripes. Are they real?" Nick asked still cooling down.

Jack nodded and smiled, "Yup, came from my mum, she had the same pattern on her face."

"Wow really? I have to say it does look cool." She said poking at them, causing Jack to be annoyed.

"I would rather you didn't touch them, thank you."

Judy shrunk back to her seat, "O-Oh, sorry...heh." She chuckled.

"You two just do each other already! Like seriously Carrots, this wishy washy act is killing me!" Nick spoke out annoyed.

The buck knew right there and now that Nick had an affinity for the doe, confirming his previous suspicions.

"I have no interest in courting Ms. Hopps Nick, don't get so hopped up on it." Jack dismissed eating his toast.

The fox seemed to instantly relax, "Oh. Cool then." He said before returning to his coffee.

Judy was taken aback by her partner's instant attitude change, "Nick. You all right?"

"Just peachy." Nick replied with a cheeky smile.

"Nick. I'm not going after Judy alright? I told you earlier I'm not into other rabbits okay? And yes Officer Hopps, that includes you. Its not an insult, but you should realize what I mean." Jack said looking towards Judy.

The doe seemed a little disappointed, but she still regardless smiled slightly, "Yeah, I guess I should've known by now that not every mammals is going to like their own kind necessarily. Sorry for being a little overbearing."

Jack was just about done with his meal, "No harm was done. Well if you two are done, I say its time to return to my dear son."

* * *

The ride back to Jack's house was fairly long, if only because they had to take a taxi back with Jack leaving his car at home for the night.

The three pulled up at his house, and the fox was the first to express his opinion, "Wow, I can certainly see the wage difference between a police officer and a ZBI agent." he said.

Jack shrugged, "Its just a house, nothing much to fret about."

Judy was exasperated by his dismissal, "You're kidding me right? My little box I called an apartment is nothing compared to your own home!"

The buck sighed, "I realize that we are in a more...well-tended part of the city, but it doesn't mean that it makes me special in any way. You should see the senior agents' own houses first. They certainly are well compensated by the agency."

Nick smirked, "Maybe should've tried out for the ZBI all along, this is no joke of an occupation to have."

Jack walked up to the front door which he saw was unlocked, "Hmm, interesting that William left the door unlocked."

As soon as he opened the door, William was sitting down on the couch. The cat clearly looking happy seeing his father, "Dad! You're home!" he called out as he went to hug his father, who gladly accepted it.

Jack chuckled, "I was only gone for a night William. Anyways, please welcome our guests."

"Nice to see a teenager appreciate their dad for once." Nick commented seeing them both happy.

William noticed the duo and politely smiled, "What's up? Fun night?"

Nick grinned, "Jack and I had a riot, so much Judy had to clean up after us."

Judy scoffed, "Don't remind me..." she said tapping her foot.

The cat switched his attention to his father, "Dad, we need to talk. Privately." he mentioned, which Jack understood with a nod.

"Please excuse us. Sit down on this couch, help yourselves to the TV." The buck gestured to the living room.

Jack and William walked to the kitchen, in which William held his paws together, "Skye called me."

The buck breathed out through his nostrils, "I see, what did she say?"

"She asked how I was doing, and her situation at the moment." William recalled.

Jack held out his paw, "May I see your phone?"

William nodded, "Yeah, just let me unlock it. Here."

His father went to his contacts, "Is this it?" he said pointing towards the unknown phone number.

"That's the one. You going to call her?" the cat asked.

Jack shook his head, "No. I'll track her instead." He wrote down the phone number and handed back his son's phone.

"If she calls again. Let me know immediately." His father ordered.

"Yeah, I got it."

Meanwhile Judy and Nick gawked at the oversized TV, "Carrots...we need this TV, right now."

"Its rhino sized, no elephant sized!" She said, she could feel her budget already straining at the sight of the TV.

"The picture, its like I'm looking at a window. No, its better than real life!" The fox looked into every detail his eyes could process.

"Jack doesn't deserve this, he's too small to appreciate this marvelous object. I must take it home with me!" Nick said.

"Take what with you?" Jack questioned as he walked into the room.

Nick gasped, "What? Nothing! I was just you know, heh..." he smiled awkwardly.

"Since you don't have work today, you're more than welcome to stay here if you like." Jack suggested.

Nick took his invitation happily, "Whelp, can't be rude." He reclined into the comfortable couch and grabbed the remote, "Take me to paradise Mr. TV."

Judy smiled, "Nick, don't hog the TV all to yourself!" she playfully scolded as she tried to reach for the remote.

William joined his father, "Are they going to binge watch all day long?"

Jack shrugged, "I believe so. We'll leave them to it then. In the meantime, I'm going to do a little reconnaissance on Skye." He said as they watched the officers tussle over the remote.

The cat's tail swished excitedly, "Ooh! Let me help!"

His father smiled, "Alright, you'll get a crash course into how to find a target's location."

* * *

The fox stretched out comfortably, "You know, that kid's got it made."

Judy also was laying down, "What do you mean?"

"He's living in an admittedly upper class kind of neighborhood. He's got a father who very protectively of him, and seems to already have a high paying job lined up. I highly doubt this kid's had any kind of real hardship in his entire life."

"You think so? William is definitely not struggling, but he's still dealt with negative events before." Judy pointed out.

"You're right. I guess I was overwhelmed by how well off this family is. I expected the kid to be a stuck up pompous square like his dad. But he seems pretty normal for a kid like him. But considering what he's gone through since he was little, I'll give him some slack."

The fox thought back to his own childhood; it stung a little, contrasting back to when his own mother struggled at times to provide him with any decent living. He didn't want to admit it to anyone at the time, but the jealousy of William's living situation had caught him by surprise.

He peeked through the large windows pointing to the backyard, "Even the backyard's big, son of a bitch."

"I highly doubt our salary's together would be enough to afford a shack here." Judy said a little somberly.

Nick grinned, "I say we get the police force together and strike for better pay."

The doe chuckled and tossed around the couch, "Zootopia is always going to need the police forces. I wouldn't strike unless _major_ things need to be changed."

"Its been almost a year already Carrots. We should get some kind of seniority." Nick moaned.

Judy knew what he meant, she too had her own concerns about the job's benefits despite being more than happy to be helping the city's inhabitants live better lives.

They heard Jack and William descending from the stairs, "Well now, I believe I found our next location." Jack stated with a smirk.

"Yep, the docks near Zootopia port." William explained.

Judy tapped her chin trying to figure out why Skye would be there, "The only activity that brings to my attention at the docks is there are several car trafficking groups that sometimes go there."

"Sounds fun fluff. So, why would Skye be there then?" Nick asked Jack.

"No idea. But with the phone number she used, this was the last location that it was received from." The buck said as he grabbed his bag from the closet.

Judy looked at his bag, "What's in there?"

"Just some equipment necessary for these kind of scouting missions. Oh, and you'll need these."

The buck handed the officers tranquilizer guns, "We'll keep causalities to a minimum shall we?"

Nick inspected the piece, "Hmm, they look a little different than the standard issue that the ZPD provides? A little heavier?"

Judy could feel the weight difference as well, "They seem more like a pistol than just a tranquilizer gun."

William smiled, "I got this. Its a ZBI issue tranquilizer, a little more effective against targets than the police version. Non-fatal of course, but is quicker to bring down other mammals. I use this for target practice at the shooting range with my dad." Demonstrating by quickly loading and unloading the gun.

Nick smirked, "Well, at least the kid can carry a weapon. Should be fun to see him in action, see what being the son of a agent gets you."

"Hopefully not much, causing to much of a commotion would endanger the entire operation and possible our lives. We can go together in my car there." Jack said as he grabbed his now charged phone.

Nick pouted, "Aw, but I was just settling in." He took a quick final look around the well appointed home.

William looked at Nick confused, "Um, you okay there Mr. Wilde?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, let's head out."


	10. Chapter 10

"Its been a while since we had people in the back huh Dad?" William commented sitting on the front passenger seat.

Jack took a quick glance back towards the two rear passengers, "Indeed. Doing fine back there?"

Nick happily nodded and reclined further into the seat, "Aw yeah, now _this_ is a nice car."

William fiddled with the radio and old school rap music softly played in the background, which annoyed Jack.

"William. We have guests. Keep the music more appropriate." The father warned.

Judy waved her paw, "Its okay, I picked up an interest for it since I moved into Zootopia."

"My innocent fluff listening to gangster rap music, the world's really ending. Though at least you're keeping an open mind." Nick said also listening to the music.

The cat grinned, "See Dad, told you other people listen to it, lighten up."

His father could only sigh and continue to drive.

"After driving around our police vehicles, this car is so plush. I could ride this all the way home." Judy added also taking the time to relax.

Jack checked the navigation on his screen, "Thirty minutes to the docks, accounting for traffic."

William was busy texting on his phone, "Great. Another long drive."

Jack noticed the name on the phone's screen, "Who's Tina?"

"Just some girl I'm talking to." William replied keeping his focus on his phone.

"Is that so? I hope its just talking you're doing."

Nick rolled his eyes, "Lay up on the kid Jack, he's already old enough to make his own decisions. Even if its...more personal things."

"Yeah, Nick is right. Give me some space you know? I love you and all, but you shouldn't just budge into my personal life." William added.

"Okay then. Go have a 'talk' to this girl. I'll just have a tea and assume my son is staying out of trouble like a good father. Is that what you mean?" Jack questioned as his nose twitched.

"For fox's sake..." William muttered.

"Gees, talk about family conflict. Aren't we about to fight some bad guys soon? Let's keep this to a minimum huh?" Nick said with a relaxed manner stretching out.

"If you ever have children you'll understand why I'm being protective of him. Sorry for the little tiff we just had." Jack explained his behavior.

Judy smiled, "I don't mind, not often I get a relaxing ride like this, I even feel...kind of sleepy..." The doe shook her head to force herself awake.

"Don't go dozing off now miss, we're still technically on duty, and sleeping on the job would not look good on your record." Nick said nudging her.

"Yeah yeah..." she opened the window to let the wind blast her face, which did the trick.

The breeze did feel good for the doe, and she took the time to stare out into unfamiliar parts of the city that were far away from her own jurisdiction.

"Hey Nick, there's an amusement park, looks fun. We should go when this is over." Judy said pointing out the establishment by the highway.

The fox took a look, "Looks like something you would like. Sure, we could go together soon."

"I thought officers couldn't go on dates." William interjected while still looking at his phone.

His father landed a quick swat to the cat's arm, "Cut it out."

Nick sat there, hoping that any of them didn't notice him blushing as he thought about him and Judy on a date, "Y-Yeah, don't be ridiculous. Its just a friend thing, right Carrots?"

The doe smiled a little awkwardly, "Well..."

"Are we there yet Dad?" the cat asked looking around the area.

"Close. Be ready when we get there."

Jack at times wondered if he had the right idea by bringing his son, even if it was training for being an agent.

"If I asked you to stay here, would you listen?" The buck asked in a serious tone.

William looked out the window, "My answer would be, hell no." He grabbed his tranquilizer gun, "We got business to attend to."

His father looked ahead at the road, "Yes we do."

* * *

"Why are you dancing like that Phil?" A female lynx asked the male raccoon.

"Practicing for a dance session later today, Emilia. Gotta keep in shape you know?" Phil replied.

The lynx was embarrassed to be seen with him, but she had bills to pay. And her friend promised something her way if she came.

"Whatever, don't do it while we're waiting for Skye." she said annoyed.

Phil grinned, "Oh please, we're here because of the money. Otherwise we would be at home doing each other." he blatantly stated.

The lynx could only sigh and stand by the wall of one of the warehouses on the dock as she watched the raccoon rather clumsily continue to dance.

"The things I do to stay solvent, should've stayed in college like my mother told me." Emilia muttered, keeping watch over the street for any unwelcome guests.

Her focus didn't stay on Phil for long as a unfamiliar car was rolling up on the street.

"Shit. That's not Skye's car." The lynx said peeking from behind a dumpster to avoid being seen.

Phil turned around, "Great. And soon this simple little waiting game became hide and seek." he complained.

He grabbed his phone and quickly texted Skye, " _Someone's here, its a green four door car."_

In a second she replied, " _That's our welcoming party, remember keep the two alive."_

" _Got it."_ he put away his phone and tapped Emilia's shoulder, "Skye's said to keep them alive."

She breathed out, "Great. This is totally going to make our lives easier." she sarcastically said back.

Phil grabbed a crow bar, "If things get fishy, I'll wack them in the head to keep them quiet."

The lynx smiled, "Aw, aren't you a sweetheart."

They gave each other a quick, hearty kiss and moved around the building so that they would be behind the car and followed them.

* * *

Jack found a suitable place to park his car by an abandoned warehouse, "Alright, time to get off."

Judy looked around, "You know, I've never been to the docks before." The general dilapidated appearance was a little off putting for her but she didn't let it bother her.

"I have a few times, used to know a couple of fishers that hung around before. Made killer smoked salmon." Nick commented.

"I'm hoping we can find and hopefully capture Skye. That's our objective." Jack said readying his tranquilizer.

William was confused, "Err, Dad? If we capture her, we are we putting her?"

"In the back seat of course." his father replied.

"What about Nick and Judy? They're going to deal with a knocked out person sitting with them?" the cat asked with concern.

Judy shrugged, "We deal with tranquilized people all the time, it wouldn't bother us."

"We'll be fine. Just focus on getting her." Nick said.

All of them exited the vehicle, and followed Jack to where he believed Skye would be at.

"Let's stay alert, who knows what she's cooked up while we came here. It would be quite naive to believe that she wouldn't anticipate us." he cautioned darting his vision around looking for the arctic vixen.

"We should stay together, she can't take on four of us." Judy suggested.

"Fluff is right, I'm sticking with her." Nick added staying close to the doe.

William wanted to show his father that he wasn't just a weak, inexperienced kitten to be pushed around, "I'll be on the lookout Dad, we'll meet again soon."

"You better not William! I'm not letting you wander a potentially dangerous area by yourself!"

The cat huffed, "Fine. But as soon as we spot her I'm taking the shot!"

Suddenly the sound of a can tumbling across the ground alerted the group.

Jack held up his gun, "We've got company. Great, I was hoping that this would be a easy day." he sighed.

Nick cracked his knuckles, "Oh boy, time for the gloves to come off now isn't it?"

"If that's you Skye, come out with your paws up!" Jack yelled out.

Instead of Skye that slowly walked out, it was a lynx instead.

"Who are you? Speak your name!" Jack demanded.

"Its Emilia. And I'm right in assuming that you came for Skye right?" she growled a little.

Nick kept his cool demeanor, "You guessed it. Since there is four of us and one of you, how about you lead us to her if you would be so kind?"

Emilia scoffed, "As if. I'm supposed to get uh...those two guys alive anyways. You and the bunny however, is fair game."

Judy instantly became suspicious, "Something's off." She turned around and found a raccoon smiling with a crow bar.

"Phil. Please to meet Skye's ex-boyfriend. And his son." he said politely, though with a sinister smile on his face.

"Where have you been Phil, I was a little outnumbered!" the lynx said a little annoyed.

The raccoon sniffed, "Sorry, had to do something real quick."

Jack stood in front of William, "Back off, we're here to seek Skye only."

"Its not going to be so simple Jack. Skye said to keep you two alive, but she didn't say how." Phil explained.

Jack swore under his breath, "Ah. Well I'm here to take Skye with us. So if you would be so kind to leave the area. I'll forget this silly little conservation between us, alright?"

The raccoon laughed, "Are you retarded? I'm not letting you or any of your new buddies to take her. I gotta make a living too, you know?"

Nick growled, "Damn. Well we can still take them down, we got our..." he patted his pocket, "Fuck me..."

"You forgot your things again, Slick?" Judy deadpanned.

The fox meekly smirked, "Well, I was hungover earlier..."

Emilia cracked her neck, "Alright, I guess its me against a glorified rat, and a ball of fluffy fur."

Nick simply smiled, "Well, I was considering going easy on you, but...I'm apparently just a _rat_."

Judy had some qualms with fighting her, but knew that the lynx wasn't going to back down.

"Alright, show us what you got." she said holding up her fists.

The lynx took a crack at it and quickly ran up to the fox first, catching him off guard she landed a direct hit on his face, causing him to yelp out in pain.

"AH! Son of a bitch! Now you're going to get it!" he seethed, the fox threw back a punch which missed.

Jack was about to assist Nick but he turned around and instantly dodged the raccoon's crow bar that was targeted at his face.

"Hey! Skye said to keep us alive right?" Jack yelled out.

Phil shrugged, "I can keep you alive. But I'm more applied with my methods." He swung the weapon again, this time at William who also dodged, barely missing the metal.

"You psychopath! Stay away from me and Dad!" He yelled out.

Emilia had some fun sparring with the two officers, "Come on little cutie, some me what ya mama gave ya!" she teased.

Judy jumped up and kicked Emilia in the chest, knocking the wind out of her, "Hmph, little cutie my tail."

The lynx growled and grabbed Judy's ears and swung her down to the ground, her body bounced off the asphalt and Judy grunted loudly.

The fox was enraged, "You fucking shit!" He dodged one of Emilia's fists and landed his own cleanly on her muzzle, and blood started to flow out of her mouth.

She spit some out to the ground, "Is that all you got mutt?" She ran back towards Nick and tackled him to the ground. Soon she started throwing punches onto his face, while Nick desperately tried to heave her off him snapping his sharp teeth at her arms as he became increasingly feral in his attacks.

Judy meanwhile quickly recovered from her daze and set her sights on the lynx attacking the fox, "Nick!" she threw all her weight into her own tackle. Throwing Emilia off Nick.

The fox huffed and rubbed his face, "Gonna feel that in the morning." he said feeling some swelling around his eye.

Jack didn't have time to retrieve his tranquilizer as the raccoon swung the crow bar with enough speed to keep the two dodging.

"My, he's a fighter, definitely not just another lackie..." Jack mused noting the raccoon's controlled movements about his crow job.

Phil slammed his crow bar on the ground, "I've been a professional bodyguard for 5 years now, this kind of fighting fits me nicely. Only reason I haven't shot you is because Skye ordered me to keep it non-lethal."

Jack smiled a little, "Nice to know Skye still carries my life with value."

William however was able to keep his in his paws while dodging Phil, "Dad! Keep him busy!"

The buck realized his son's intent and nodded, "Got it!"

The raccoon swung a couple more times, with one of them barely razing Jack's leg.

The rabbit froze and took a quick glance, sighing with relief at the sight of no blood, "That was a little too close for comfort." he lamented.

William quickly came to assist his father, grabbing at the raccoon's shirt and tugging him away from Jack.

"Aw, little kitty's scared?" Phil mocked as he swung down hard on William.

The cat blocked the weapon from making contact from his face, but the impact on his forearms proved to be very painful and William fell the to ground crying out holding his arms.

Jack gasped and ran over to him, "William! Stay down, don't hurt yourself!" the rabbit was attempting to care for his son but Phil wasn't finished.

Phil took a heavy swing at Jack's arm, but the rabbit was able to quickly move out of the way and grabbed the crow bar tightly.

"Hey! Let go!" Phil yelled out as he struggled to remove it from Jack's grasp.

Jack noticed the bloodshot eyes on the raccoon up close, "You've been on something, mate?"

Phil grinned, "So what? Keeps me awake dude."

The raccoon freed the bar from Jack's paws and chuckled, "Well then, so much for being a professional agent-"

Suddenly the raccoon loosened his grip on the crow bar and slumped down to the ground.

Jack noticed the dart landed on his thigh, "Good aim William."

The cat winked, "Not too bad eh?" He looked at the struggling officers, "Come on, they need our help."

"Your arms?" Jack asked concerned.

"Hurt like a bitch. But like I'm going to back out so easily." William boasted kicking Phil's unconscious body.

Jack nodded and sprinted over to Emilia, "May if I joined the fray?" he yelled out.

Nick saw Jack rushing towards them and took the opportunity to distract the lynx by grabbing her waist and her arms in a hug, keeping her immobilized.

"Jack!" he yelled.

The lynx noticed the rabbit do a front flip and a high jump, before she could react his foot landed on her head, causing her to stumble onto the ground.

"Ow! You dirty mother-" Emilia didn't finish her sentence as she felt the prick of the dart on her arm, and quickly she too lost consciousness.

Jack released a deep breath and holstered the tranquilizer gun, "Well that's done with. How are your wounds?"

Nick showed out a fresh bite mark on his left arm and some mild swelling near his eyes, "Been better, but still standing."

Judy rotated her arms and stretched out her back, "Little sore, but I'm good." she stood proudly.

Jack grabbed William's arms, causing the cat to wince, "No blood. I don't feel swelling. Maybe a bruise." William said to his father.

The rabbit sighed, "Could've been a lot worse."

William chuckled, "Dad, I'm fine. Just shows you how tough I am doesn't it?"

The buck hugged him tightly, "Tough or not, you're still my son."

Nick felt glad to see them hugging it out, but footsteps in the distance caught his attention, "I hear something."

Jack knew those footsteps anywhere, "Skye."

" _Ya rang?"_ a voice down the alley echoed.

The group turned their attention to the source and sure enough the arctic vixen walked to them.

As soon he as he saw her he gasped, " _Beautiful as ever..."_ he thought, even if she was dressed in a blue hoodie and black cargo shorts.

"Long time no see Jack." Skye greeted with a happy smile.

Nick also was noticing her appearance, "I can see now why you slept with her Jack." he said admiring her.

Judy felt a surge of unpleasant annoyance, "Nick. Let's not go there right now, we need to capture her!"

Skye looked towards the unconscious raccoon and lynx, "You made pretty quick work of them. What a shame, I'll throw some money their way for the trouble later I suppose."

William wasn't sure how to react, on the one paw she did dart his own father, but on the other she was apparently in a sticky situation.

"Skye, why did you send those two after us?" Jack demanded from her.

"Just making sure it was you and not someone else. Though you seem to have brought friends along." the vixen pointed out the two officers.

"Its part of our mission, to capture you and bring you to justice." the buck stated coldly.

The vixen tsked, "Seems you haven't gotten the picture just yet. William, didn't you tell him?"

The cat shook his head, "Like he would listen to me."

Jack looked towards his son, "What are you blabbering on about?"

William scratched his head, "I'll tell you later. First, let's get Skye."

Jack aimed his gun at her, "Skye, you have a decision to make right now. Come with us peacefully..." he pulled out a second lethal gun, "Or be killed."

The arctic vixen tapped her chin, "Well. It doesn't seem I have much of a choice now don't I Jack?"

The buck smirked, "Not really one is there?"

William grabbed Jack's shoulder, "Dad. Just tranquilizer her, we don't need to kill her. We're going to need her later."

Jack nodded and pulled the trigger, releasing a dart that landed on her leg.

Skye continue to smile, "You made the right choice..." she fell down and was knocked out right there.

Nick sighed looking around, "What a mess. All this trouble, its not exactly a nice feeling to experience right now."

Judy went over to the vixen and inspected to make sure she was alright, "She's out. Let's get another cruiser here to collect them."

Jack joined her and laid his paw on Skye's face, "I'm sorry." he muttered.

" _One day, this house will be yours. Promise you'll take good care of it?"_

 _"Its a big house though, who else is going to live here with me?"_

 _"You'll find someone, and hopefully maybe you'll raise a big family to fill this house up."_

 _"With you right?"_

 _"I can't say right now."_

 _"I'm not going to kick you out or anything like that!"_

 _"I know you won't. But we'll see how things unfold, alright?"_


	11. Chapter 11

" _Don't make this difficult William."_

 _"Where's Nick and Judy?"_

 _"They were disposed of, they continue to make my mission difficult to progress."_

 _"You killed them?"_

 _"Of course. Assets must be discarded after use."_

 _"But, they didn't have to die!"_

 _"Thinking like that is a wasteful endeavor, they were just trouble to keep around."_

 _"They trusted you! I trusted you!"_

 _"I know. But Skye must be stopped. You of all people should see that."_

 _"All those people you killed earlier. What about them?"_

 _"What about them? It was easy to remove them from the equation."_

 _"Seriously Dad, you're scaring me."_

 _"Scared? Such a weak kitten to be frightened by an agent."_

 _"Wait, Dad don't point the gun at me!"_

 _"Apologies, but my current situation doesn't allow for unnecessary liabilities, especially from the likes of you. Goodbye, William."_

 _"Please Dad don't-"_

William suddenly woke up with a gasp, he looked around and realized he had dozed off earlier in the car.

He looked behind and saw Judy and Nick were gone.

"Something the matter?" Jack asked his son, "You seem petrified."

The cat had a difficult time shaking of the fear from the nightmare he had, "Y-Yeah. I'm fine. Where's Nick and Judy?"

"They took their own ride back to the station, don't worry they took Skye and her goons with them."

William looked at the glovebox where he knew Jack stored his gun and shivered from it, "Dad. I need to ask you something."

The rabbit was curious at his son's seemingly random questioning, "What's the matter?"

"Did you mean kill Skye back there?" William asked quietly.

Jack sighed and gripped the steering wheel a little more firmly, "It was a possibility, yes."

"You love Skye don't you though?"

"Now? I can't say." Jack admitted.

"Would you ever shoot me?" The cat sputtered out.

Jack nearly slammed on the brakes, "You lost your rocker? Why ask such a question?"

The cat felt some chills from his father's reaction, "You've killed people, and before you were less...stable."

The buck was at a lost, why would his own son suddenly be afraid of that scenario?

"William. I would never try to harm you in such a way. Ever." Jack firmly stated.

"No matter how much I piss you off?" The cat suggested thinking back to such incidents.

Jack had blood on his paws, that much was certain, but he would never in a million years would ever think of murdering his own son.

"What made you think of such a thing in the first place anyways?"

"I don't know. For some reason sometimes I feel that you're hiding something from me. And I'm scared of what you'll do if I found out." the cat admitted.

At a stoplight Jack pulled over to the curb and parked the car, "William. I need to tell you something right now."

"I'm all ears."

Jack took a deep breath, "I won't kill you, and I won't hit you. All those previous times, I did it because I...there was no excuse. I wanted to be a good father, but you understand that I grew up in a pretty rough neighborhood. I suppressed my upbringing and childhood to be an agent, but there were times when that side of me who believed that violence would solve things just came out."

The rabbit's paw touched William's chest, "The bruises may be gone. But the fear is still there."

His son held Jack's paw, "Dad, what you did to me was awful. For a while I was scared of you honestly, but I didn't say anything because I knew you would hurt me again. But you changed, and there was no reason to fear you anymore. You're my Dad, and whether I want to or not, you'll always will be."

Jack gritted his teeth and a surge of anger built inside him, not at William but at himself.

"Why can't I get over myself! I know you love me! But I can't fully accept it!" he cried out.

The stress was already rapidly rising, his self-control was decreasing along with it. Jack felt like a failure and wanted badly to run away from it all, but for his son's sake he chose to compose himself.

Jack has killed other people before, and at most he felt a sense of closure that his mission was over. But his secret that he kept from his son slowly ate away at him all these years.

"This may sound completely idiotic and uncalled for, but I'll sooner shoot myself before shooting you. And that's the truth."

"Dad..." William tried to reach out to him but the buck sat back to his seat.

"Sorry. My outburst was unaccounted for." He said grabbing his sunglasses and placing them over his reddening eyes, "Shall we continue back to the police station?"

William sat there in shock over his father's sudden distress, "Do you want me to drive for now?"

Jack nodded, "That sounds good, I need a rest anyways."

* * *

"Feeling comfortable back there Officer Hopps?" Officer Fangmeyer asked the bunny.

Judy frowned as the three unconscious bodies squished her in the middle, "Hardly. Couldn't we have brought I don't know...a larger vehicle?"

Nick may have had feelings for his partner but he still took pleasure in seeing her in precarious situations, "Embrace the love fluff, for another ten minutes or so."

The doe scoffed, "Next time, I'm riding shotgun."

The fox rolled his eyes, "And I ride bitch? I'm going to have to pass on that offer. Thanks though."

Fangmeyer sighed, "Do you two always fight like this?"

The fox shrugged, "More or less, depends whether or not she's in a good mood."

"In a good mood? You're always whining and moaning on the job!" Judy objected.

"There's no rules against that Carrots. Not all of us share your enthusiasm for this profession."

Fangmeyer smiled, "You've been here long enough to earn the title of drama queen, Officer Wilde."

"Care to provide an example?" Nick suggested.

The tiger thought for a second, "Hmm, well there was that one time you threatened to burn down the building because Pennington took the last of the coffee."

"It was an exaggeration, I was only going to burn down the break room." Nick retorted.

Judy thought of one, "That time when you were caught trying to frame Wolford for stealing all the toilet paper from a bathroom stall because he didn't compliment your shampoo."

"Hey! That shampoo costed a pretty penny, my coat looked so good it reflected off light!" Nick said as he inspected his fur.

"And all those times you came to my house drunk. Finnick is good friends with my neighbors already for crying out loud!" Judy said, "I think you may be an alcoholic."

"I'm offended, I can assure you I drink in moderation like a good fox."

The doe smirked, "You claimed to able to outdrink an rhino."

Fangmeyer cringed at that statement, "That doesn't sound like a boast to be proud of."

Nick wasn't appericative of the accusations that were flung over to him, "You both can piss off, I can control myself perfectly fine. And for you Carrots, don't think I remember that time when you took too many shots at the bar last month and ended grinding on a lamppost."

Judy blushed, "I told you not to mention that incident ever again!"

Fangmeyer whistled, "Damn girl, did you take those hormone suppressing pills _after_ you drank?"

"I take them every week during the season!"

Nick saw an opportunity to tease her to oblivion as revenge, "Did you remember to take them yesterday?"

Judy's ears dropped, "Oh cheese and crackers..."

"Poor Jack, he's going to have to deal with a horny doe attacking him every five seconds. Hope that agent work kept him in shape." The fox sarcastically mourned.

"Its not too late, I'll just take them when I get home!" she retorted.

Nick grinned, "If you happen to forget again let me know so I can invest in rabbit repellent. Just in case I happen to be a viable replacement for Jack."

"I'm not going to try to screw Jack okay? He said himself that he isn't attracted to other rabbits!" The doe stated.

"Ooh, tough luck Hopps, if I was a rabbit I would definitely make a move on him. Jack's a really handsome guy." Fangmeyer said.

"Please let this ride end already..." Judy quietly begged to any deity listening.

* * *

By the time Judy and Nick arrived at the station, Jack and William were already there.

"What time is it?" Jack asked William.

"Err, almost 9 pm. Shit, I have school tomorrow." William sighed, he didn't want to miss out of any of the mission.

"Call in sick tomorrow. We still need have work to do."

William was ecstatic, "You serious? Yes! Thank you so much!"

Jack smiled, "Course. Couldn't lose my most important partner so soon now would I?"

They met up with Nick and Judy at the parking lot by the side entrance, "Alert me when Skye wakens, I need to have a little chat with her." Jack said.

Nick and Judy nodded, "Got it, we'll leave her in a cell with the other two." The doe said before running to assist Fangmeyer with moving the three suspects to the building.

"Been a long day...how come you're wearing sunglasses Jack? Trying to impress someone?" Nick questioned the rabbit's attire.

Jack shook his head, "Just felt in the mood to don these lenses, but I suppose we are heading inside."

Taking them off realized his red eyes, concerning both Nick and William.

"Damn Jack, something got caught in your eye?" Nick said inspecting closely the buck's blue eyes.

"I suppose so, nothing to worry about it should go back to normal shortly." Jack said.

William said nothing about his eye, "Let's head in then."

Inside the station Jack took the time to relax on the break room's couch, "Mm, I need a shower. Mind if I use the station's facilities?" Jack asked Nick.

"Be my guest, I'm not paying the bills here." the fox said escorting the rabbit to the station's locker rooms.

Jack took a look around the shower room, "No one here. Good. Thank you for showing me Nick, I will be done in a short while." he said opening a empty locker.

The fox smirked, "That's nice. I needed one as well anyways." he said opening his own locker nearby and beginning to strip down his clothes.

Jack looked away shyly, "Er, I was hoping to have some privacy actually if don't you mind."

Nick was down to his underwear already, "Its a public shower area, there's no privacy here. Just the way it goes."

The buck sighed in frustration, "I see...well guess I can't avoid it."

The fox was already free of his clothing and was walking to the showers, "Don't worry, water's nice and warm."

Jack stored his own clothing inside the locker, and reluctantly joined the fox in the shower.

"Let's see...hmm, the water does feel nice actually." The buck muttered.

Nick smiled, "See? Not too bad right?"

Jack nodded a little, "Its fair enough...hate to be a bother but can I borrow some of your shampoo?"

"Course, but keep in mind its made for foxes, so I'm not sure if it would work well with your fur." Nick said handing Jack the bottle.

"It'll work, thanks."

Nick inspected the buck's body, "Quite a few scars you got there champ."

"Hmm? Ah, yes, comes from the work I'm afraid, but it doesn't affect me."

Jack opened the bottle cap to apply some of the liquid but the bottle slipped from his paws, "Drat..."

Nick watched as Jack knelt to grab the bottle, "Having some trouble there Jack?"

The buck sighed, "Slippery lot this bottle is...why are you looking at me like that?" he questioned noting the fox's quite pleased expression.

"Oh, just enjoying the _view._ " the fox said.

Jack was utterly confused by Nick's answer, "Uh...that's quite a joke to make Nick."

"Yeah, let's call it that." Nick said before returning to scrubbing his own fur.

Jack stood there suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable being around with just Nick.

"Yes, well I should finish up, get back to the task at paw." Jack said rinsing the suds off his body.

"You cleaned up okay?" Nick asked.

Jack felt it was good enough, "Well, should be enough to get me through today..." the buck trailed off, the fox seemed to be inching closer.

"You missed a spot here..." The fox said pointing towards Jack's back, "Let me help out with that."

The buck gasped as he felt Nick's paw rubbed against him, "What are you-" he stiffened as he felt the fox's sharp claws scratched at him.

"There we go. Nice and squeaky clean." Nick said as he finished washing the spot.

Jack felt even more uncomfortable and fought the instinct to attack the fox, "Are you done?"

Nick was satisfied, "Yes, one more thing though..."

He turned around, "Mind doing my back? It's pretty difficult to reach you know?"

The buck rolled his eyes, "Fine." he collected some of the shampoo in his paws and scrubbed the part that Nick pointed out.

The fox's tail swished, "Mm, yeah that's the spot...a little lower." he requested.

Jack frowned as he lower his paws further down Nick's back, "Here?"

"Little lower."

The buck reluctantly reached down to the base of Nick's tail, "Is this the spot?"

The fox's tail was rapidly moving around, "Yes! Harder! Scratch harder!"

Jack did as the fox asked which drove Nick, well, wild.

"Yes! Oh gods! That's the spot!" Nick yelled out.

The buck was hoping that nobody was around to witness this peculiar situation, "Are we done yet?"

Nick grinned, "Almost there! Keep going, please Jack!"

After one final gasp Nick fell to the floor, "Oh yeah, I needed that so bad..." he muttered.

Jack stood there trying to process what just happened, "Nick, did I just..."

The fox looked at the buck and grinned happily while stretching his body quite seductively, "You just made this fox _very_ happy. Do you want to grab some coffee later or something?"

Jack was at this point just distraught, "I'm going to leave now. And we'll never speak of this again."

Nick chuckled, "You're cute when you look like that you know?" he said still lying down on the ground.

After that particular interaction the two went to redress, but Jack suddenly remembered, "Shite, I forgot a set of clean clothes."

"I gotcha." Nick got up and walked to a larger locker and pulled out a plain white t-shirt and blue sweatpants in small mammal size, "Here, you can keep these if you want. We got plenty in here anyways."

 _ **I'll admit, I had fun writing this steamy little scene :)**_


	12. Chapter 12

"So...what's it like being a cop?" William asked Judy as they both sat in the empty meeting room.

The doe beamed, "Being a police officer is such an honor! Everyday I work my hardest to ensure that the lives of Zootopians are as safe as possible!" she replied happily.

"Really? I'm going to be honest, I never really liked cops that much." William admitted.

Judy was surprised, "You didn't like cops? How come?"

The cat shrugged, "Don't know, I guess I thought cops were just some lazy, entitled people that liked to order others around. Not to mention the quite nasty attitude they have when they don't like you."

"That sounds awful, I haven't met a single officer that acts like that at all." The doe said confused.

"I guess its kind of ironic, considering I tend to idol my Dad's career as a agent, which is still law enforcement like you do, just cooler." The cat pointed out the rabbit's badge.

"Did you personally know any police officers?" Judy questioned.

William shook his head, "As like personally? Nada."

"Hmm, maybe you should rethink about your opinion on police then." She suggested, "Would definitely help when you officially become an agent like Jack."

The cat smiled a little, "I guess I already kind of did, you and Nick seem pretty dedicated to your work. And I do respect that."

Judy smiled back, "Aw, thanks!"

Jack and Nick returned, with the buck looking a little embarrassed and the fox smiling like he enjoyed himself earlier.

"What's up Carrots? Ready to begin our interrogation of our suspects?" Nick asked.

"The tranzquilier should've already worn off them, so now hopefully they'll be awake in the cell so we can take them to the interrogation room. I'll let Bogo know that they are going to be transferred over there shortly." Judy explained to the others in the room.

"Officer Hopps if I may, I request that I would be the one to talk to Skye. I know her best and she would most likely answer whatever questions needed to be answered." Jack said to Judy.

"That's fine. As long as you two don't cause any major trouble it shouldn't be an issue." Judy replied.

The buck smiled, "Brilliant, thanks."

William was uncertain about the process, "So what's going to happen to Skye then?"

Nick sat down on a chair, "Well assuming its the normal process of interrogation, we'll collect the suspects from the cell, ask them some questions, hopefully they'll answer them and then they'll be put back into the cell until either the Chief or the ZBI decides on what to do next." he explained casually.

The thought of the ZBI deciding what to do with Skye worried William, "Dad. I know this sounds funny, but is it okay if I talk to Skye first?"

Jack was off put by his son's request, "What? What is there to talk about?"

"I don't know. I just want to talk to her. Please Dad, this may be the last time I see her." the cat pleaded.

Jack sighed, "Well, I guess..."

William smiled and hugged his father, "Thanks!"

The four walked to the holding section of the precinct, and surely enough the suspects were fully awake.

Officer Wilde held up the keys, "Alrighty, this little gentlecat requested some talking time with Skye. Also, pawcuffs, just a precautionary measure." he said opening up the door.

Skye smiled as though nothing was wrong, "That's fine."

The other two were feeling miserable and weren't in the mood to converse, let alone be interrogated.

Judy despite the previous fight with them felt some sympathy, "It won't be too long, I promise."

"Sure, what ever you say bunny." Emilia grumbled.

Jack stopped William along the way to the room, "Listen William, she is a trained assassin, realize that she could easily kill at any moment if she wanted to, understand?"

"Don't worry Dad, I have a feeling that she won't doing anything like that." the cat said disregarding his father's warning.

"I suppose so, I'll be watching."

Judy opened the door, "Here you go. Take your time."

William nodded, "I won't be long."

Skye was sat down by Nick to the chair, "Oof, easy there hot shot." she complained.

Nick smirked, "Calling me hot?"

Skye rolled her eyes, "That little potshot ain't working on me, Officer Wilde."

Nick continued to smile, "Course not. Good luck kid." he said to the cat shutting the door.

William took a deep breath, "So, here we are."

Skye nodded, "Yep. Well, you've grown to be a fine young adult, I'm happy to see that."

"I'm sorry we couldn't have met in other...you know, circumstances."

"Its alright, you do what you have to do." Skye consoled the cat.

"Okay. First question then, how did you know that my Dad was coming to the docks?" he questioned.

"Easy, it was simply keeping your phone's location from the GPS, I knew that he would want to come and chase me. So why not make it easy for him?"

William was confused, "Wait, you wanted to be captured?"

"Well I had to make it plausible of course, but yes ultimately that was my goal. Remember when I told you about the guy who wanted Jack dead? Well it would be easier to make it seem I was captured rather than ducking out."

"Oh wow, no wonder it was so easy to get you here." William realized.

The next question came to him quickly.

"Who's the guy that wants my Dad dead?" the cat asked, tensing up a little.

Skye's smile disappeared, "Well, a good way to describe him would be a shadowy figure from Jack's past. He's been unfortunately taken over by a hatred for Jack, and now he's out for blood." she stated ominously.

Her sentence made the cat shiver a little in fear, "That's...frightening. Go on, please." he goaded a little reluctantly.

"Let's see. I hope I don't upset you too much since you're still young but, Jack and him do go back quite a ways."

"Dad knows him?"

Skye sighed, "Yeah. I hope you never meet him because he knows about you and Jack."

"He knows about me too? Wait, what's his name?" he asked now finding himself feeling a strong need to know more.

"Its not his real name, but he told me to call him Hunter."

"That's a dumb name, is he a predator or something?"

Skye nodded, "He is a predator. And yes the name is questionable."

"Oh boy, this sounds like a nasty situation to be in right now." William lamented.

The vixen whined a little, "It makes me nervous, not just because of him wanting to kill Jack, but for your own safety as well."

"You really do care about me don't you?" William said smiling a little.

"Of course, I care about you as much as for Jack." she said.

"It feels weird, I know that you love me and all but to hear my Dad talk about how you were involved in dangerous missions with him, its hard to imagine something as nice as you really are."

Skye chuckled, "Its okay, now you know what's actually going on. You don't need to worry about me or Jack at all, we'll straighten it out at some point."

The cat tapped his foot on the floor, "I sure hope so, maybe we can be like a family hopefully one of these days."

The vixen smiled, "That does sounds nice William."

William stood up from the chair, "I guess I'm done then."

"Please stay careful, who knows what Hunter will do next." She said.

William was done for now, "Okay, Dad is next, take care."

Skye gave a warm smile, "You too sweetie."

The cat left the room and closed the door, he sighed, "Okay..."

Jack came back after a short moment, "Done?"

"Yup." William replied, "She's told me about herself and you. It has definitely shed some light, I hope it does the same for you Dad."

"I see, well let me hear what she's got to say then."

William wanted to stick around, but he knew Jack wouldn't appreciative him being around right now, so he decided to go back to join with Nick and Judy at the office and wait for his father to finish.

"Good luck Dad."

Jack opened the door, and immediately sat down on the chair. For a moment he was silent, but he eventually got around to asking Skye.

"So Skye, I must ask you because its been bugging me. At the hotel, how come you didn't kill me?" he asked.

The vixen chuckled, "Because I still love you, isn't it obvious silly?"

"Its that so? Interesting, I'm grateful for you sparing me and my son, but I'm still concerned that you may still try something."

"Hurtful. Thought you would figure something out by now, you're a smart bunny." she said a little disappointed.

"Figure out what? What am I supposed to do? Let you free and pretend things are going merrily? Utter bollocks that is!" Jack shouted angrily.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down, "Right. You've gone completely rogue, or are you working for someone else. Tell me Skye, I've no time for dithering around the subject."

"I _was_ working for someone earlier." she answered.

Jack laid his paws on the table, "Tell me."

"Someone you should know. Another former agent of the ZBI."

"Great, the ZBI seems to be having issues with retaining agents within the roster. This is leading to many headaches right now." the buck lamented.

"Sorry I couldn't do anything about it, but this guy is dead set on his goal." The vixen regretfully said.

"Damn. Is William safe from this at least?" Jack hopefully asked.

Skye shook her head.

The buck smiled sarcastically, "Brilliant. Absolutely fucking brilliant. What am I suppose to do then? Skip town? Seek refuge with my son back in Wolverhampton?"

"You believe me?" Skye said a little surprised.

"I believe it. Some agents within the ZBI aren't exactly known to be a lawful bunch, but this is definitely leading to major issues..."

Skye squirmed a little in her seat, "If it ain't so rude to do, I do have something to ask you."

Jack raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

The vixen hung her head down a little, "Its been a long time Jack. I need to know something..." she said nervously.

The rabbit became slightly annoyed, "What? Out with it then."

"Do...do you still love me?" Skye asked quietly.

Jack sighed, he knew some question of this sort would pop up, "Skye, I don't know honestly, its been many years since we've even talked. I forced myself to move on for my job and my son. And now that you are back, its really hard to know what to do about you." he explained.

The vixen's face became gloomy, "I see..."

The rabbit still needed more information, "Now then, you seem to have continued access to resources currently, I assume it was this agent you speak of?"

Skye nodded, "He's connected with some dark companies and organizations, and the flow of money in them. Since he's left the ZBI he's become involved with these underground places."

"Care to provide examples?" Jack asked.

She sighed, "The biggest one I can think of is that predator supremacy group, I think the name was the Westwood Pathfinders?"

"Sounds like more a sports team name than a supremacy group. I've never heard of them, maybe Officer Wilde and Hopps have information on them. Sounds like to be quite an unruly group to associate with, a predator supremacy organization..." Jack said frowning."

"I knew that he was involved with them because he actually referred them as a potential source of money, course I declined because I hate the idea of such a movement, but he doesn't seem to care particularly much, I suspect he's heavily specist." Skye informed Jack.

"Is that why he hates me? Because I'm a prey?" Jack asked speculating the agent's motive.

"That may be a part of it, but really he wants to kill you because of something you did." She answered.

"Fuck me. Alright, what did I do that caused him to want to kill me?" Jack said.

Skye looked away, "I don't know if I want to tell you."

"Skye. Tell me, what did I do?" the rabbit demanded.

"Fine I warned you, you killed his brother..."

Jack froze for a moment, "Oh, dear..."

The vixen nodded, "Yup, that's the gist of it."

The rabbit entered an epiphany, "It seems in the time I've killed targets, I forgot that they had family too."

Skye watched as Jack looked towards the wall, "I've torn apart families, for what? For law and justice?"

"Jack..."

The rabbit went through the familiar feeling of guilt, "My scars run deeper than my skin it seems, and it'll never go away. I deserve whatever happens to me..."

He clenched his fists, "I'm no better than the supposed 'enemies' of the state. I also killed indiscriminately, just because some suits tell me to do so. A hired assassin." he said as tears once again threatening to run down his face.

Skye grew worried about his change in demeanor, "Jack, don't say things like that. William wouldn't like hearing those kind of words coming out of you."

Jack darkly chuckled, "You're right, he would definitely dislike the things I would have to confess. I should do it now, and hope for a quick death."

Skye wanted so bad to hug Jack, but the cuffs were preventing her from budging.

"Don't say anything, would you want to grant the wish of someone who wants you dead?" she implored.

"I suppose not." Jack said, "I'll do it after this mission is done. How my son reacts is up to him."

Skye growled, "To hell you will! I'm not losing you because of some dumb decision the agency made years ago!"

The rabbit was taken aback by her outburst, "But..."

"But nothing! You dumbass, I've had it with your glum attitude! You were so different when we were still together, the Jack I knew seems to have become a sad sack of rabbit meat waiting to be eaten by a wolf!" she shouted angrily.

Jack was speechless, so Skye continued to talk for him.

"I'm not some kind of doll that you speak to in bed about your problems alright? Other people expect me to merely accept their sadness, their guilt, their anger without actually doing anything about it!" The vixen steamed.

"My apologies, perhaps I've gotten a little too sullen with my thoughts." Jack said flatly.

Skye wanted to slam his face into the table, "And cut it with this 'proper agent' talk, Jack Savage you're not some richy boy from the estates. You grew up as a street bunny in Wolverhampton, like you told me when we met. That Jack wouldn't let himself be overcome with doubt, he would fight it and finish the job."

Jack sneered, "So fucking what then? You want me to act this way huh? I've left that life behind years ago because I wanted to better myself. A street urchin has no place as an agent, let alone being a father!"

"That's the point! William needs a father who is self assured, someone who's strong and confident, like you used to be! The Jack I fell in love with..." she said to the buck.

Jack's eyes opened up, "Love? Is that right?" he said.

Skye nodded and smiled a little, "Duh, its not like I slept with you for shits and giggles. I loved you because you were the kind of rabbit that I looked for, the one who took no flak and was strong enough to be able to include others in his life. I mean, that's why you adopted William, because you knew that you could take care of him! And looks who's right?"

The rabbit felt a whirlwind of emotions, "Skye. You are right. God, I lost myself trying to be something I'm not." The rabbit smirked, "What a fucking time to be alive isn't it? Thirty years old and already going into some kind of crisis, my mum would smack me upside the face, and then make some tea to make me feel better."

Skye saw the old Jack beginning to reappear, "Glad to see that knew what I was getting at. You feeling better now?"

The buck thought on it and smiled, "You know, I do. Huh, feels strange, but I like it."

"Great. Honestly for myself I don't like trying to cheer you up like this, it feels kind of demeaning in a way, but seeing you smile like this more than makes up for it." the vixen admitted.

"I can see why I fell in love with you before. I've forgotten that you made me feel happy, you and William. I don't need to throw it all away so needlessly." Jack stood up, "I going to ask for amnesty for you and your friends. I feel that there has been some misunderstandings going on, we know now what needs to be done."

"Really?" Skye said surprised.

Jack laughed, "Course, not like me to hold a grudge."

Skye laughed along with him, "Ha, guess not."

" _Dad, you've been gone for the whole day! What happened?"_

 _"Oh I was just shopping around and I found this."_

 _"That's...that's a golden baseball signed by Yukimara Hitachi!"_

 _"It is. Happy Birthday."_

 _"But he's so hard to even talk to! How did you get him to sign this?"_

 _"Lots of phone calls and asking around to get him here."_

 _"But Dad, its your vacation."_

 _"Yes it is. But why try to enjoy it without my son enjoying it with me?"_

 _"Thanks, I love it!"_

 _"Now then, how about with play some catch in the backyard with your new baseball?"_

 _"Totally!"_


	13. Chapter 13

_**These chapters may start getting longer, should help with the flow a little better.**_

"It's raining..." William muttered staring outside the window where it was dark out.

"Really? Bummer, I was hoping it wouldn't be like this until I at least got home." Nick lamented.

Judy was sitting down on the chair on her phone, "I don't mind too much, at least it's not cold." she said while texting her parents.

"The streets are going to fun to navigate, hopefully they fixed the sewer system at one of the intersections downtown, it was flooding earlier." Nick grumbled wanting to flop onto his bed.

William frowned, "I hate the rain, its the worst feeling ever being drenched, being unable to dry myself off."

Nick resisted taking a jab at William's species and instead emphasized with the teen, "You ain't alone on that one, every time it rains I need to use the blow dryer at home not only on my fur but my clothes also, pain in the ass if you ask me."

Judy chuckled, "My parents just texted me a picture of them and some of my siblings trying to drag a huge pumpkin."

The fox walked over and took a look, he whistled, "Wow, that's quite the pumpkin. I imagine it would make a lot of pies."

The doe nodded, "Probably, I wish I could grow fruits and vegetables at my place, but there's barely enough place for a fruit bowl, let alone a garden." she sighed.

Nick laid a paw on her shoulder, "Don't worry fluff, I'm sure with the dough you're making you could afford a nicer place, maybe with one of those rooftop gardens to grow stuff in."

"Really, you think so? Hmm, I should start considering moving soon, since I have been saving extra money lately." she said pondering the process the decision.

"And I'll be there to help along the way, who knows maybe we'll find the perfect place." the fox suggested.

Judy playfully slapped away his paw, "Cut it out Slick, don't you think we're moving too fast?" she sarcastically warned.

"I don't know, are we honey bun?" he playfully replied back.

William rolled his eyes but with a smile, "You two guys are hitting it off quite well."

Nick felt a need to pummel the cat to silence him but that definitely wouldn't fly with Jack and Judy, "You would do well to shut that mouth up kid." he warned.

"Being pretty harsh there aren't ya?" Judy said noting the fox's reaction to William's teasing.

"Sorry. Didn't know what came over me." Nick said chuckling nervously.

William crossed his arms, "It's called being embarrassed. Dude I can read your face, its all over you."

Nick growled a little, "Sure kid, like I'm a book."

Jack walked into the room, "Its done. Our next course of action starts now. But first, I elect that we release Skye and her friends."

Nick was astonished, "What? After all we've been through, don't tell me she got to you with her charming looks!" he said outraged.

"Aye, but what she told reveals that she's been innocent of this event all along, we know now who the real person we're after." Jack stated.

"But what about the ZBI?" Judy asked.

"I'll let them know. If they choose not to support the mission that's their decision." The buck replied.

"Well whether or not they will help you, I'll be there all the way Dad." William said enthusiastically.

Judy looked towards Nick, "Well? Are we going along with this?"

The fox grumbled, "As if we have a choice, Bogo told us to stick with Jack through the case."

"I appreciate your support you two. You've certainly moved us along much faster than anticipated." Jack thanked the officers gratefully.

Jack grabbed his phone, "Let's make a call." he dialed a number and set it on the table with it on speakerphone.

After several rings the call was answered, " _Agent Savage, glad to hear from you again_."

"You too Mr. Carter, I must apologize for the delay as there was some complications that needed to be sorted."

" _It's alright, I assume that you have Skye in custody?"_

 _"_ Correct, she's currently being held at the Zootopia Police Department, Precinct 1."

" _Excellent work, I knew that you were the right rabbit for the job. I shall send transport to acquire as soon as possible."_

"Actually, this may be a strange request and difficult to explain why but I believe that Skye would continue to be of use for us."

" _That sounds quite foolish for you to say, don't you realize the previous accounts of crime she has committed?"_

Jack tsked, "And somehow I'm different because I work for you? Let's be frank I wouldn't be looked upon so fondly if I wasn't on your side."

Nick and Judy stood there quite worried about Jack's demanding attitude.

"Should we butt in?" Nick whispered to Judy.

"Leave it, we shouldn't get involved like this."

William felt that his father knew what he was doing and remained quiet.

" _Agent Savage, are you not aware of the potential consequences that would come with allowing Skye to accompany you?"_

Jack smirked, "I'm perfectly aware, I will bare the full responsibility for her actions from here on."

 _"You seem quite confident of yourself, very well, did you collect any information out of her that can be used then?"_

"I have, she has informed me of another former agent that is involved in illegal activities, including she what told me a predator supremacy group."

Nick suddenly felt a little awkward standing close to Judy, "R-Really now? Predator supremacy? That sounds ridiculous, doesn't that sound ridiculous Carrots?" he asked the doe.

"Nick! Shh!"

Jack continued, "Skye has also informed me that he is trying to have me eliminated, I speculate that he may be behind some of the missing or killed agents recently."

" _This sounds like a very serious claim, are you prepared to pursue this suspect with only the words of another rogue agent?"_

"I do, please allow to further pursue this case Mr. Carter."

After a moment Mr. Carter decided on it, " _Agent Savage, I'll allow it, but don't expect this case to pop up on the ZBI books, understood?"_

Jack smiled, "Yes sir, thank you."

" _Get on it then Jack, I believe in you."_

"You have my word Mr. Carter, bye." he said hanging up the call.

"You've heard him, its time to switch gears. We're after a fellow by what he refers to himself as Hunter." The buck announced.

"Fun name." Nick commented.

"Yes, apparently he's affiliated with a certain predator supremacist group called the Westwood Pathfinders?"

Judy was pumped, "Alright! Time to kick tail!"

Nick yawned, "Really? Now? I'm tired."

"Alright, tomorrow morning then?" Jack suggested.

"Yeah, sounds better than a sleepover at the station." Nick chuckled.

* * *

Jack and William waved goodbye to Judy and Nick as they entered the car, "Nice people aren't they?" William said reclining the car seat a little.

"I suppose so, they have been quite cooperative despite the dangers exhibited throughout this mission. They've got the kind of determination deep down that keeps them going, that's what makes a good police officer." Jack said.

"Hmm, changed your mind about a certain rabbit officer then?" the cat teased his father.

Jack fiddled around with the radio to find his favorite station, "Being cheeky aren't we? I'm afraid to say that I'm still not scouting for mates, William."

William grabbed his phone, "Let's see, average rabbit litter size, can range from 2 to 10...wow. Why haven't you told me kind of stuff anyways?"

"You can't mate with a rabbit and raise a litter, so it wouldn't matter anyways to provide that sort of information." Jack explained.

"The most education you've given me on anything about parenting was not to be doing random other cats." William said still on his phone.

Jack cleared his throat, "Ahem, let's not dive into that sort of topic William, even at your age."

His son shrugged, "That's fine, it would've been weird to have a lot of rabbit siblings. But it would be funny to raise a rabbit army with a cat as its leader." he said imagining his takeover of the academy with dozens of agent trained bunnies.

Jack could already feel the stress of caring for a litter, "Please don't raise that subject, being cursed with such an ability isn't pleasant to keep in the back of your mind." He set the car in motion.

"Aw, but it would be cool to be an older brother to a practical army of siblings." William chuckled.

" _You_ would be helping me raise an army." Jack reminded his son.

Suddenly the thought of cleaning the house made the cat shudder, "On second thought, maybe its best not to go forth and multiply...at least until I leave the house."

"I have told you I don't care to have a rabbit as a mate right?" Jack said driving off the parking lot.

"Heh heh..." William chuckled.

"What's so funny? You have a problem with my preferences?"

William threw his paws up, "I don't know Dad, I mean, I like other cats. Maybe I'll marry one and have kits. But don't think you're the only one with 'alternative' preferences."

Jack took a quick side glance, "William, for my sake and yours, please don't mention those to me, at least not for another couple of years."

"Whatever. Just letting you know."

"You mentioned you were talking to a girl earlier, is she a cat?" Jack asked remembering William's earlier texting.

"Yeah, she's a pretty nice person, likes to go go-karting, play video games, do art."

"Sounds like quite the catch." Jack now teasing his son.

William looked away embarrassed, "It's not like she's my girlfriend or anything."

"Just a friend?" the rabbit asked now a little confused.

"Uh...yeah, friends. Let's leave it at that." William said hoping his father didn't catch on. But Jack wasn't naive about these kind of relationships.

"Is she what they call here a friend with benefits?"

William crossed his legs, "I mean, that sounds pretty out there to say..."

The buck sighed, "You know what? I'm not going to say anything about it, I'm sure you're being safe about it and we'll leave it at that alright."

The cat was surprised his father's calmness, "You're not mad?"

"Course not. I mean I'm a little upset but I have to face the facts, you're a young adult and its perfectly normal for someone your age to go out and have flings."

Jack arrived at a stoplight, "But..." he grabbed his son's wrist quite firmly, "The policy is this, if I happen to find out that have indeed knocked up another cat I'm going to take serious measures, understand?" he growled with a serious face.

His son gulped in fear, "Yeah, totally, I'll be careful." he said nodding.

Jack let go of his arm, "Lovely, glad we had this nice talk."

* * *

"So, how about a movie?" Nick suggested as him and Judy walked together down the street.

The doe tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Now? We have work tomorrow you know."

Nick shrugged, "After work tomorrow?"

Judy thought on it for a moment, but she decided it would be good to do something with the fox once in a while, "You know what? Sounds good!"

Her partner smiled, "Awesome, knew you would pull through. I have the perfect one in mind."

"Oh, care to enlighten me?" The doe asked now interested in the movie itself.

"The plot is about a young mouse who escapes his home in order to join a street gang. But, this street gang eventually grows into a major trafficking company. And the mouse learns that the company itself wants him to kill his friend, instead they join together and take out piece by piece the head honchos of the gang until its just them running the game."

Judy liked the sound of how the movie went, "Wow, that sounds pretty cool! I love these crime films, despite me you know, being a cop."

Nick grinned, "Hey, embracing that side of you that likes to see the criminal's perspective isn't such a bad thing, helps with understanding motives sometimes."

"But isn't this film fiction?"

The fox chuckled, "Based on a true story actually. Zoogle it."

Judy also chuckled, "I believe you, its sounds cool though, a little mouse taking over."

"Mice definitely loved it. Ironically the movie was directed by an elephant, but the dude was so impressed that he was inspired to create the film." Nick explained.

"That's crazy! I thought that you know..."

"Elephants are scared of mice you mean to say? They aren't, well, most of them." He said.

"I've never met an elephant before I came to Zootopia. Its funny, they didn't talk much about them back home, guess because they didn't care that much." Judy said thinking back to her school days.

"Oh really? Are the inhabitants that ignorant?" he said.

"Well, I guess some are, but they mean well." Judy admitted watching a young possum couple walk by.

"Nice night to have a walk huh?" she asked the couple.

Both of them looked at each other with confused faces, "Yeah...you too." the male said before they scampered off.

Judy stood there, "Was it something I said?"

Nick sighed, "It wasn't what you said."

The doe turned to him, "What? Do I smell bad? I didn't have time to shower!"

Her naive amused and disappointed the fox, "Carrots...nevermind, you'll see later." He said as he tail dropped.

The doe patted his arm, "Hey, stop being so glum. I'm fine, really."

Nick hung his head down, "I know, I guess I'm thinking too much."

"We all have troubles, but we just power through them right? Never look back." Judy consoled the fox.

Nick couldn't help but be infected by her upbeat attitude towards life, "Yeah... Yeah! You're right, time to stop being whiny, we're officers of the ZPD, and we should always be vigilante!"

"You said it! Race you to the end of the street, slowest has to ride shotgun tomorrow!" Judy said.

Her partner laughed, "Ha! You're on fluff!" he exclaimed before he got on his four paws and sprinted ahead.

"Hey! No fair!" she yelled out as she switched to a quadrupled stance also.

The sight of the two officers running quickly down the sidewalk on their all fours led to the others on the sidewalk to either quickly move aside bewildered or cheer them on, "Moneys on the bunny!" one yelled. "Dude, that's Officer Hopps and Officer Wilde! They sure are quick!" another pedestrian said.

"I'm winning fluff, better get ready to warm the passenger seat tomorrow!" Nick yelled to her.

"As if Slick!" the doe put in all her strength into her legs and was quickly catching up to the fox.

"Ready or not, here I come!"

The fox suddenly stopped at the intersection noting that something was off.

Judy stopped at his spot and was gasping for air, "W-Why you'd stop?"

"There." he pointed to a blue car in a small driveway.

"Yeah, so what?" The doe said trying to figure out what he's referencing.

" _Hunter's not going to happy, the payment's due tomorrow and we haven't delivered it!"_ a female tiger said into a phone leaning against the blue car.

Judy and Nick recognized the name, "You think its the same guy?" Nick asked the doe.

"Maybe, let's here some more..." she said as they continue to eavesdrop on the conversation.

" _Yeah, dude's being a dick right now. He says I took the money again, he's being fucking stupid. I didn't take any of the damn money!"_

Inside the house there seemed to be someone else inside, " _Babe! Get that sweet ass back in here!"_ a male voice shouted out.

The tigress sighed, " _I need to go, my boyfriend's is being a whiny bitch again. I'll see ya in a couple hours."_ she hung up the phone, " _Shut your loud mouth up, I'm coming!"_ she yelled back as she closed the door to the house.

Judy nodded, "We got a possible lead. Get the license plate number and address. We're going in."

Nick agreed and typed it down on his phone, "Let's take a peek shall we?"

The place was a typical three story townhouse sandwiched in the neighborhood block, but Nick knew that these places had an alleyway in the back.

"Let's go around the back. There should be an emergency stairwell to climb unto." Nick said.

The doe followed him to the back, "We need to get up there." she said looking at the raised ladder.

Nick ran to the bottom and held his paws together, "Need a boost?"

Judy smiled and ran towards him, "Alley oop!" she hopped on his paw and the fox lifted her up just enough for her to grab the ladder.

"Great work there dude." Nick commented on her jump.

She slowly raised the ladder down to avoid any loud noises, and the fox was able to lift himself to the stairwell.

Nick took a look inside through the window, "Let's see...oh my."

Judy joined him, "What? Oh wow."

The fox smirked, "Nature at work there isn't it?"

Judy was taking in the sight, "I've never seen two tigers...procreate." she said watching them doing the deed on the couch.

"Well, as much as I like to watch a live nature documentary, let's see if we find more clues right Carrots?" he said nudging her.

"Yeah, I'll look around some more, just uh..." Judy couldn't take her sight away from the couple.

"You do realize there's this kind of stuff on the internet right? It's called porn in case they didn't teach you back there." he deadpanned.

Judy was able to remove her focus on them, "Let's go a floor up then." she said pointing at the next flight of stairs.

They proceeded to do so and to their surprise the window to the bedroom was unlocked, "Huh, quite careless of them to leave it unlocked." Judy said.

"We going in?" Nick asked.

"Don't we need a warrant?" the doe replied a little unsure.

The fox smirked, "Well, I do declare myself judge for tonight, and I'll issue one for this particular household." he stated in a country accent.

Judy rolled her eyes, "That was admittedly not bad, but you sure we should do this?"

"Carrots, pardon my potty mouth, but I don't fucking care. Let's just get evidence and go home." he groaned.

"Alright alright." she slowly lifted the window open, "You first."

Nick did a little curtsy, "Such a gentlemammal." he said.

It was a small drop the carpeted floor, keeping it quiet, "Well, can't say its the most well appointed home I've been too." he said observing the generally run down appearance of the interior.

Judy scrunched up her face, "It smells kind of funky." the smell itself was especially strong on the bed.

Nick grimaced, "You know what it is? The smell of sweat and other bodily fluids."

"Oh sweet cheese and crackers." she held her nose.

"Yeah, _cheese_ isn't what I would describe the smell as." Nick said.

The doe looked around the bedroom, "I don't see anything in particular that would help us."

Nick pointed towards the laptop lying on the bed, "Maybe we find something there?"

Judy shuddered, "Please Nick, don't make me get on the bed."

"Rock, paper, scissors?" he suggested.

The rabbit sighed, "Ugh, fine." they readied their paws, after two tries Judy won, "Yes! Paper beats rock!"

Nick groaned, "Great. This stench is going to be fun to try to get off later. Ugh, that's a stain right there." he muttered.

The laptop was perched on the middle of the bed, but since it was tiger sized he had to actually get on the bed in order to reach it.

"I hope they don't notice the smell of fox in the middle of all this." he said.

He successfully grabbed the laptop, "Here, put it on those drawers." he said giving it to the rabbit.

Judy did as told and set it on the drawers setting aside some objects.

She opened it up and it started up, "Must've been on sleep mode, they were still using it earlier." The screen prompted a password.

"Any ideas Slick?" she asked trying to think of one.

"Didn't the news mention something about the most commonly used passwords?" the fox recalled searching the article on his phone.

Judy laid her paws on the keyboard, "I don't know how many tries we get, let's make it count."

"Password?" Nick called out reading from his phone.

She typed in but received an invalid message, "Nope?"

"123456?"

"Nada."

"Hmm...welcome?"

"Didn't work."

Nick was getting frustrated, "Damn it. Last one, dragon?"

"Well I'll be, it worked!" Judy announced excitedly.

Nick fist pumped, "Yes! Thank you!"

The desktop was pretty messy, with lots of files strewn across the screen, but with a blank blue background.

"Great, this is going to take a while, and who knows how long Mr. Tiger is going to last down there." Nick grumbled.

Judy snickered, "Hopefully long enough, and I'm not just speaking for us."

"Aye~" Nick highfived the rabbit.

Judy clicked on random files, "Let's see, torrent of a movie, some pictures, a spreadsheet?"

Nick whistled after the file opened, "Looks like the work of a professional accountant, beautiful." he said in awe.

After reading through this month's balances they both realized what it was.

Judy and Nick looked at each other, "Westwood Pathfinders." they said in unison.

"Well I'll be a son of a vixen. That's pretty convenient for us." Nick said reading through the file some more.

Suddenly the doe felt an unease in her stomach, "Nick. They are part of this group also. You think they meet at this house?"

The fox nodded, "Maybe. If they find us here, they wouldn't appreciate us being in their house. Especially us being cops, and you being a rabbit."

"Great. I can't wait to have to explain why we broke into their home."

"Let's jet?" Nick suggested.

"Gladly." Judy logged off the laptop and placed it back to its original location.

Footsteps were heard coming up and Nick knew they didn't have time to get down, "Crap, we need to hide!"

Judy looked towards the closet, "In here!"

Nick closed the window and quickly got inside the closet almost at the same time the tiger walked in.

The tiger looked around the room suspiciously, he sniffed around, "Hmm...smells off."

" _What's that?"_ the tigress yelled from down stairs.

"It smells like some kind of shampoo in here!" he yelled back.

" _Its probably the new one I've been using!"_

The tiger accepted the answer and shrugged, "Okay, I'll be down in a minute!"

Nick and Judy watched the tiger who was bereft of clothing sat on the bed, he pulled out a box from underneath the bed, "Aw yeah..."

He grinned and opened the lid, "Come to daddy..." he buried his nose into the box and took a deep sniff.

"What's he doing?" Judy whispered to Nick as they peeked through the blinds.

"Some kind of drug no doubt." he replied.

The tiger shuddered and grinned, "Fuck yeah, I'm coming babe, ready yourself cause I'm coming back in!" he growled before setting the box on the bed and rushing downstairs.

Nick sighed in relief, "Good thing he didn't see us."

They exited the closet, "Let's see what we got here." Judy said picking up the box, "It's some kind of green powder?"

Nick was cautious as he examined it, "Nothing I've seen before. Whatever it is, it seemed to make the tiger super horny, and his body shook, maybe its a blend of different substances then?"

"We need to collect a sample and bring it back to the lab to see the contents." Judy said trying to find something to contain it.

"So, looks like they dabble in drugs as well. Nice to know."

The two could hear the couple downstairs, "Carrots, don't you dare try to sneak a peek."

"Like I was going to!"

"I saw you walking to the hallway."

Judy groaned, "Fine! I wanted to take a look! Can you blame me though, that tiger is buff!"

Nick nodded, "You're right, but it doesn't mean we can use them to get our rocks off you know?"

The doe tapped her foot, "You can't boss me around like that. I have my own interests as well!"

"You have an interest in watching two tigers doing it on drugs?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Judy reconsidered her words, "No! I meant like actually having my own life, which I have for your information!"

"I never said anything like that, stop freaking out over nothing, you bunnies get so emotional."

Judy scoffed, "Oh yeah, like foxes are the most stable beings on the planet!"

"Alright! Fine, let's just get out of here."

"But we still need to get a sample!" Judy reminded the fox.

"Just take the box. He won't know we took it." Nick said.

Judy sighed and grabbed it, "Let's hurry."


	14. Chapter 14

"Let's take a break, and in break I mean sleep." William said to his father as he got out of the car and stretched his entire body.

Jack yawned, "Yes, sleep does sound like an excellent idea."

The buck realized his hasn't slept in a proper bed for a few days, and the sores around his body proved the toil that it endured so far.

"Can't wait for tomorrow though, I'm sure we're going to have some fun solving the rest of this case, right Dad?" the cat asked his father.

Jack sighed, "I know that you're excited for this mission, but give me a second to breathe."

The buck could definitely feel the age difference between him and his son, even if the buck himself was still relatively young.

"Have you been exercising at all lately?" William questioned noting his father's fatigue.

Jack shook his head, "Afraid not. I guess I just didn't have the time to keep my body in tip top condition."

William chuckled and slapped the buck's back, "If you don't get back to exercising at this rate I'm going to be stronger than you pretty quickly."

"Well yes, right up until now your only responsibilities consisted of maintaining a good standing in academy. You have the free time to exercise whenever you wanted to."

William flexed his developing muscles, "You're right. Too bad its hard for cats to gain muscle, I would've been pretty buff by now if I was like a wolf or a bear or something." he said.

Jack shrugged, "You seem pretty in shape for someone your age and species. It will take years before you'll be like those actors on TV."

William knew that his father was right, even after years of exercise and agent work Jack was hardly more muscular than the average small mammal. But the rabbit compensated with brute force and technique.

"I know, its frustrating though." the cat huffed.

Jack opened the trunk of his car, "Well, that's just how it goes. We don't choose what species we are born into, we just learn how to manage with what we're given. Just remember that every species have its advantages and drawbacks alright?"

William nodded, "I know. I just wish I could continue to bulk up, so bigger guys wouldn't push me around you know?"

His father smirked, "If you continue to train then you'll be able to handle yourself against bigger mammals, I can attest to that fact."

The cat sat down next to the front door, "Just need to keep going huh?"

Jack retrieved his dirty clothing in a bag from the trunk and closed it. He then sat down next to the cat.

"That's the only way to make progress, unless science finds a way to hasten it."

"It's called steroids Dad." William flatly mentioned.

The rabbit nodded his head, "I'm aware, but I mean other, more effective methods."

His son frowned a little, "That'll be the day, seeing a muscled up hamster beating up a rhino for money."

"I have little information into what pharmaceutical companies are creating, but performance enchancing drugs are high priority if I recall."

"That and those pills that help older guys get it up." William added.

Jack laughed, "You're right on that one. I've seen some of the older agents mention that before. Hopefully my body continues to serve me well for years to follow."

"Ew, Dad don't say that." his son objected grimacing.

The father was amused, "Its rather funny that since we're of closer age than most father and sons are, we can talk to each other a little more easily about our issues."

"It is kind of crazy, I mean you were still a kid when I was born. If we _were_ related people would look at us like we're a freak show."

Jack agreed, "Even for rabbits, having children at such a age is rather frowned upon. But by high school they seem to stop caring, they think its natural for some rabbits to start families so early at life."

"What about you? Do other rabbits bother you since you don't have kids at your age?"

"I suppose once in a while, but I have said that I am raising a child and they back off." Jack said as he looked up at the night sky.

"Do want me to have kids?" William asked now interested in what his father wanted.

Jack smiled a little, "In the future? Sometimes I do find myself hoping to see grandchildren, but there's no pressure. It's up to you whether or not you choose to have a family."

William knew that he had a stable, high paying job on the line, so he wasn't worried about work. But if he were to find a mate and have kittens, he wondered if being an agent would interfere with his fatherly duties.

"Dad. Did being an agent ever made you feel worried about me?"

"When you were younger, all the time. But as you grew up I knew that you going to be fine and I focused more on my agent work. But being a father has brought some joy into my life, so I do find myself wishing to come home to see you." Jack said wrapping his arm around his son's shoulder and bringing him in.

William squirmed a little, "Dad! Let go!"

Jack refused and held him in tight, "What? You object a little affection from your father?"

The cat groaned, "Other people are going to see us."

"They already know us, I doubt they'll particularly care."

The cat admittedly did like the attention he was receiving from Jack but he also didn't want to be seen by anyone he knew that a person his age was still being hugged by his father.

"Can I go now?" William quietly requested.

Jack smiled, "Alright." he lightly licked against the cat's cheek before releasing him from his grip.

William wiped his cheek, "Yuck! Dad!" he said blushing.

"That's just the way my species says I love you, sometimes words aren't enough."

The cat wasn't unfamiliar with that particular gesture, but it wasn't his favorite.

"Just don't do that out here again, please. People will think that we're in _that_ kind of father and son relationship."

His father got up, "No promises, and anyways licking isn't always seen as a questionable thing alright?"

The two went to settle back down to their domestic life, with William running up to his room to undress from his suit that was wearing since this morning and put on only his t-shirt and sweatpants.

"You think it may be too late for some dinner?" Jack yelled to his son.

The cat came down the stairs, "Its...like ten pm. But what kind of food you're thinking of making?"

Jack took a look at the kitchen, "I was thinking something simple, but filling. Maybe some mashed potatoes and some vegetables. Of course a kipper for you." he added mentioning the cat's required meat in the diet.

"Sounds good, but wouldn't it take a while to make?"

The rabbit went to retrieve the ingredients, "I've made this dish plenty of times before, it takes a few minutes, mostly to cook the fish."

The cat stuck around in the kitchen to observe his father make quick work of dinner, "It's cool that you know how to cook. Most dads would burn down the kitchen to make toast." William said.

"Pfft, if a father can't cook how is he to provide for his family? And that goes for you too William, I would suggest learning how to prepare meals before leaving the house." Jack suggested as he added the potato powder into the small pot.

"Would be nice to cook decent food for myself instead of ordering takeout all the time." the cat said as he sat down on the island counter seat.

"And also doing laundry for that matter, cleaning the house too, and grooming yourself more often..." Jack went on.

"I get it! I need to learn how to adult." William admitted.

"How to adult? That sounds utterly idiotic, to adult..." Jack said in disbelief as he pulled out the fish from the refrigerator.

The fish was applied to the hot pan with a special kind of oil that Jack uses for fish, the resulting smell made the cat purr with his tail swinging back and forth anticipating the treat.

Jack couldn't help but be amused by his son's behavior, "Sounds like somebody's hungry."

"Starving, I haven't eaten since breakfast, and it was only a bowl of cereal. That weird pellet kind you like to eat too." William complained.

Jack stirred the mashed potatoes in the pot while the vegetables were boiling in another pot, "It's not meant for cats, I've told you this many times before."

"But there isn't much to eat for breakfast!" the cat shot back.

His father groaned, "If you bother to remind me before I shop at the store I would've pick something out for you."

"Okay I'll do that next time, is the food ready yet?" the cat asked as he peered over the rabbit's shoulder.

"Give it a minute, still needs to be cooked some more. The vegetables and mashed potatoes are ready though, be helpful and collect the plates and utensils please."

The cat did as his father asked and set them on the counter, "Oh boy, can't wait."

Jack was just about done with the fish, he collected one of the plates and set the sizzling meal on the plate, "Here, you can get the rest."

William grinned, "Thanks Dad, smells so good." he said before quickly applying the rest of the meal on his plate and running back to his chair.

Jack grabbed his own plate and sat next to his son who was already chowing down vigorously on his meal.

"Slow down or else you'll choke." Jack chastised his son.

William gulped and licked his lips, "Mm, you cook a mean herring. I bet other rabbits would be so confused to see you cooking meat for his son."

"I remember asking my mum about how to cook these, but she said, 'Me son's trying to cook some meat! I told your father not to be watching those cooking programs!" He recited with her voice, "So I taught myself with a cookbook and several tries."

The cat was already halfway down with the kipper, "You seem to go through a lot of trouble just to make up the species difference between us."

Jack had tried to accommodate whatever William's species would teach their young, but most of the time the rabbit would raise his son as he felt fit, resulting in once in a while William acting more like a bunny than a cat.

"Well I remembered back at my hometown a couple of years ago you tried one at that fish and chips stand and you were in love with it. So I decided to learn how to make them. Too bad I can't try them otherwise I'll be rather occupied with the bathroom." He chuckled.

"Did you at least take a single bite?"

Jack stared at the fish, "Well, one bite shouldn't be a huge bother..." he used his fork to cut himself a small piece.

The buck sniffed it and to him it didn't smell off, so he took the bite, and munched on it as best as he could on it, "Hmm, well..." he swallowed the fish, "It's edible, compared with the other meat I've tried, it's fine."

William smiled, "Rabbits may not have a taste for fish, but I sure do. Can't get enough of it, maybe I should take up fishing and make my own dishes."

Jack had no interest in fishing, he felt it was utterly boring sitting around in a dinky boat trying to provide food when he could pop over to the supermarket and buy some.

"Perhaps, don't ask me for advice though, I'm not the fishing type."

"What kind of type are you then?" the cat asked after swallowing a chunk of the fish.

The rabbit thought on it for a while, "Well, I suppose I'm more of the I'm occupied with my job type of person, so not much time to visit relatives or friends. I do once in a while partake in office parties with coworkers, I do enjoy knitting sometimes to help relax myself."

The cat shuddered remembering the Christmas sweater that his father made for him years ago, "That sweater you made for me was so itchy, which didn't make sense because I'm covered in fur already."

"Be grateful I made it for you in the first place. Some children don't even have heating in their homes, including me for a while." Jack said munching on the vegetables.

"Does it feel weird? To be well off now compared to when you were a kid?"

The buck set his fork down and closed his eyes, "I suppose, but I don't let that kind of thing bother me much, I still have some decent childhood memories despite the fairly difficult upbringing."

The cat had knew as long as since they were together that his father grew up in poverty, but despite the stories that Jack told him, William could never truly grasp the destitute feeling that came with the bottom rung of society.

"I never said this but I should. Dad, thanks for keeping me out of trouble like that." The cat told him with gratefulness.

Jack nodded, "Of course, I'm your father, it's my job."

William finished the last of the kipper, "That was great, thanks Dad."

"You're welcome, be ready for tomorrow, and remember to clean the dishes." Jack said as he left the kitchen.

"What? But, ugh..." the cat groaned.

Jack walked into his bedroom's bathroom to prepare for the night, he grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste and began to brush his teeth, then he phone rang.

The rabbit sighed and rinsed out the toothpaste before answering, "Hello?"

" _Jack? It's me, Judy!"_ she answered through the phone.

"Ah Judy, nice to hear you, you needed me for something?" he asked as he put the phone down and set it to speakerphone.

" _We found some interesting stuff about the Westwood Pathfinders, at this house it seemed the people living there are part of the group."_

Jack's ears sprung up in curiosity, "Oh?"

" _We found a spreadsheet about their finances, and this tigress was talking on the phone to someone about owning money to Hunter."_

The buck grinned, "Excellent, if we can find a way to collect more information from them perhaps we could start narrowing down where this organization's networks are, and should lead us to Hunter himself."

" _That's what Nick and I was thinking but we had an argument about how to do this. He said we should sneak back into the house when they aren't here and search the inside, while I suggest we do a raid on the place, and get everything valuable to our investigation."_

Jack frowned, "A raid would draw way too much attention to everyone connected to the organization, and sneaking into the house again sounds like it would potentially go wrong."

" _But we have_ _to find out more stuff into the group, what do you think we should do?"_

"We need to get an inside source from the group, they can provide any reliable information we need."

"..." There was no response from the doe.

"Is something the matter?" Jack asked a little confused.

" _I...I might know someone who'll fit our need."_ she nervously replied.

* * *

Judy finished her phone conversation and hanged up.

"So, what did he say?" Nick asked as they both were sitting on the couch in his apartment watching tv.

"He said that we need someone inside of the group."

Nick shrugged, "I don't know anyone, predator supremacists are a crowd I definitely do not want to associate with."

The doe nervously chuckled, "Yeah, about that..."

"What? Why are you acting like that?" he questioned.

Judy fumbled with her paws, "I was just thinking, maybe you can be the plant." she quietly asked.

Nick gasped and instantly became angry towards the rabbit, "You lost your rocker fluff? You think I'm still some kind of criminal that can just waltz into any crime den like I belong there? I'm not doing it, end of story." he said with animosity.

"But we need to find out more about them! And there's no other way, I can't just walk up to them and pretend that they'll be cooperative with a rabbit police officer!"

The fox paused the movie, "Listen Judy, I'm not doing it, I've already done some questionable things in the past, but I'm not going to entertain the idea of joining such a terrible group of people!"

"Please Nick, we need to do this, I can't see any other way to do it." she pleaded.

The fox frowned and looked away, "Carrots, what would you say if you found out I was secretly part of this group huh? You would be fine with it?" he questioned.

Judy smiled a little, "If you were really part of the group, I wouldn't probably have solved the Nighthowler case, and you wouldn't be a cop."

"But what would you say? Answer that!" the fox demanded looking back at her still frowning.

"I don't know, I wouldn't say anything, I would be so confused honestly. Maybe I would disapprove a lot, but I don't know word for word what I would say."

Nick bared his teeth, "If I were a predator supremacist I would tell you to take a hike back to that sad place you called home, that you had no right to be a cop. I would tell you that you're just an uppity piece of meat that is trying to push herself into a predator's world. I would show you what _really_ happens when a puny prey dares to talk up to a predator." he growled.

His statement left the doe speechless, and slightly trembling. It brought flashbacks to after the press conference, and with it all the overwhelming fear.

"N-Nick..." she said still shaken up.

"I'll go undercover at that damn Pathfinder group, but don't forget, I will hate every second of being in there. It goes against my own morals." the fox said before grabbing the remote.

Judy sniffed a little, "I'm sorry to push you like that, I just was trying to help Jack in any way we can, but I guess I've gone a little too far in trying to reach our goals."

The fox didn't like when the doe was upset, he sighed and shuffled closer to her, "I guess I got a little too snappy for my own good too." he said wrapping his tail around her.

Judy calmed down as the fox returned to being soft and embraced his tail by laying her paw on it, "Wow, your tail fur is so soft." she said mesmerized by the lush, thick fur.

Nick smirked, "It's that shampoo fluff, makes any fox's fur soft and smooth as butter."

The rabbit felt the tail shuffled around, "Having a long tail looks so nice, my tail is just a ball of fur." she said pointing it out while as moved around a little.

The fox smiled as he shifted his gaze from the tail to her hips, "Yes, but I'll say its a wonderful little bun."

Judy noticed his eyes weren't meeting hers, "Hey!"

Nick shook his head, "Sorry fluff, guess I'm more tired than I thought." he said a little embarrassed.

The doe chuckled, "I know its not you being tired, maybe I should've switched to something more comfy." she teased.

The fox's imagination went in different directions from her phrase, "Yeah? Like what fluff?" he suggested as his tail got more excited.

"Like...pajamas!" she exclaimed before laughing.

Nick continued to smile, but inside he was sorely disappointed by her answer, "Oh, that sounds comfortable I guess."

The rabbit stroked the fox's tail, "We could always share them though."

He stiffened, "What do you mean?"

Judy rested her head on his shoulder, "Just joking around."

The rabbit typically slept on the couch if she decided to hang around for the night, but the thought of sharing the bed with the fox seemed a little intimate for her.

"I'm tired, think its time to go to bed." Judy said rubbing her eyes.

"You know I have only one bed right?" he reminded her.

"We'll share."

Nick's eyes popped open, "O-Okay then."


	15. Chapter 15

_**Whew, we're at the fifteenth chapter already; but we still got a good ways to go, anyways thanks a lot for reading this story, let me know how you feel about it. Thanks :)**_

Skye was sleeping inside her cell, along with her two friends that were forced to stay at least for the night despite their objections to the officers earlier.

Phil groaned, "This is abuse you know, this cell isn't meant for the three of us to sleep in here, I don't know how Skye is managing to live with this." he said looking at the peaceful arctic vixen.

Emilia couldn't sleep primarily because she wasn't a fan of the rather tight quarters of the cell despite being with others she knew, "I know, but what can we do? We're stuck here until at least later in the morning." she pointed out remembering the promise Jack made towards Skye earlier.

"How am I suppose to believe some dirty cops? I'm surprised they haven't caught on to the fact that I took my 'medicine' earlier, otherwise my ass would've be grass by now." the raccoon said while he lied down on the cold ground.

"You should stop taking that stuff, I've being noticing that you've been acting like more of a dumbass than usual."

The raccoon scoffed, "I'm fine, that stuff is pretty powerful, but I'm pretty good at controlling it at least."

"Not when you attacked the officers earlier, if they weren't so forgiving you would've been either in a padded cell or even dead."

"But I've been more productive since I took the stuff. You should know that." he said with a wink.

The lynx rolled her eyes but also crossed her legs, "Of course, but I still don't want to see you doing anymore of that whatever you call this stuff. At least not in dangerous situations like we were just in."

"I call it the 'Roaring Sugar', there's other names for it, but I thought it sounded about right. Its like a sugar high, but better and longer lasting." Phil explained.

"That's a stupid name, sounds a bit like cocaine." Emilia guessed.

The raccoon shook his head, "Nah, this one is safer because it doesn't fuck up your heart, and it's great for stamina."

Emilia didn't appreciate the fact he was partaking in such a drug, but she would be lying to herself if she said she didn't do drugs sometimes too.

"Sounds like a fun time, wouldn't happen to have a little on you to try myself?" she said a little curious about it's effects.

Phil quietly chuckled, "It was made for guys, don't ask me why, but it doesn't work for girls."

"I don't get it, why create something only half the population can use?"

The raccoon grinned, "It's sort of like an extra boost of testosterone."

"Does Skye know about it?" Emilia asked him.

The vixen didn't discourage drug use necessarily as she didn't care to control other people's lives, but for Phil she did tell him to keep it away from the sight of cops to avoid trouble.

"She does, but she didn't seem to bother me about it too much, she said just to keep it under wraps."

"Is it just you that's been using this stuff?" she asked thinking about potential distribution opportunities.

Phil smiled, "It's been getting pretty popular lately, I've seen it used more as a aphrodisiac, I mean my friends say its been great for their relationships or just their sex life in general. So I suppose words would get around and it will get more mainstream, soon you'll see it everywhere on the streets and maybe even used as some sort of medicine."

The lynx saw the potential profits from this recent development, "Damn, we could make some good cash out of this if it does becomes more used by people."

Skye groaned and her eyes fluttered open, "Mmm...what time is it?" she drowsily asked the other two in the cell.

Phil shrugged, "Don't know, maybe like 3 in the morning? It's been like a few hours since those cops put us in here." he guessed.

The vixen sat up on the thinly padded bed stretching her limbs and popping a few joints, "You guys haven't slept at all?"

Emilia shook her head, "Couldn't, I'm not a fan of sleeping inside a cell. Even if there's barely anyone else in the place itself." she explained noting the rather quiet police station.

"Whatever cops were here must've either gone home or on night patrol. I can't imagine that there is anyone actually here besides us and maybe like a janitor or the clerk at the front desk. Even the chief is gone I think." the raccoon suggested.

"I don't know about you, but the thought of being stuck here any longer is going to drive me insane." Emilia sighed.

The ZPD has had complaints of rather tight quarters ironically enough for small and medium sized mammals as they were often grouped together in cells designed seemingly for sizes in between of them.

Phil looked out the cell and stared down the hallway where there was a single window that was still displaying only the night of Zootopia outside.

"To think if we weren't arrested I would've been dancing my heart out at the Panda Theater..." he muttered.

The lynx hugged him from behind, "They'll be another chance, don't worry we'll be fine." she said comforting him.

Their display of affection reminded Skye a little sadly of her relationship with Jack, "You guys are cute together you know that?" the vixen teased.

The raccoon became flustered, "She's just a close friend alright? Don't think anything else is going between around us!" he vehemently denied.

Emilia nodded in agreement, "He's right, I was just trying to make him feel better."

"There's nothing wrong with dating outside your species, you don't need to deny your feelings for each other just because society tells you to." the vixen countered.

"Shit, that isn't what my mom said to me, she said that I really should just work at the factory she worked at before and settle down with another lynx." Emilia said to Skye, "But after my last relationship with one, I said fuck it, I'm not dealing with that bullshit again."

"You never told you dated a lynx." Phil said a little shocked.

Emilia solemnly nodded, "Yep, dude was kind of crazy though, he was drunk all the time, and he taken to jail because he was accused of molesting a teenager at a park."

"There are others out there that aren't such scumbags." Phil attempted to explain to her.

She shook her head, "No, I'm done with them, the ones who could be considered 'normal' are assholes as well, one of them called me a discarded fleabag just because I didn't act like some damsel in distress."

"That sucks. I don't like other raccoons, sometimes I feel like something is wrong with me." Phil admitted, "Even if I tried watching raccoon porn or pictures I can't really get it up to them."

"Thanks for the details Phil." Skye deadpanned.

The lynx sat next to the vixen, "What about you? Are you going to help Jack with whatever he's trying to accomplish?"

Skye smiled, "Of course, just because we're not in a relationship anymore doesn't mean I'm going to hold him against it."

"Aren't you worried about that other rabbit?"

The vixen shrugged, "If Jack wants to enter a relationship with her I'm not going to bother him, and anyways I have a duty to protect William."

"The cat? He seems more than capable of keeping himself out of trouble." Phil questioned remembering the fight with him.

"He can't protect himself against Hunter, and in a way neither can Jack." the vixen insisted.

Emilia growled, "That Hunter dude is pissing me off, he's like that one guy who thinks he can control the world around him. He's got the ego like those rich bankers or stock brokers, thinking he earned a lofty place in the city just because he got connections."

Phil agreed, "He's the definition of a dude's face that needs to be punched, and his house robbed. I'll happily volunteer for that."

"Why did you even choose to work for him?" the lynx asked Skye.

"We left the ZBI around the same time, and we both needed a source of income. Hunter knew some contacts from his job that promised a steady stream of money, and he offered me to join him, so I did." she explained.

Phil was now interested by their business relationship, "Was he always like this then?"

The vixen shook her head, "No, when we first started working together he was an okay guy to work with, we got along fine so it wasn't really an issue for me at all. But as the money started to roll he started acting off, and soon he started more about Jack."

"Jack? Did they know each other?" Emilia asked.

Skye thought on it for a moment, "Well...Hunter knew Jack more than the other way around, for a reason."

"Reason is?"

"Jack killed Hunter's brother." Skye flatly answered.

Both Phil and Emilia grimaced, "Oh, yeah, that'll do it then." the raccoon said now understanding Hunter's motives.

Emilia laid her paw on Skye's, "But why did Jack do that?"

"The ZBI is rather ruthless in its pursuit of eliminating potential suspects or enemies. Jack is known for being an efficient killer rabbit, so it wasn't a stretch at the time for him to do any job the agency asked him to. Jack wanted to prove himself when he first started out, so much that he didn't care as much about any future consequences."

In hindsight Phil didn't seem to feel any particular anger or fury from the rabbit during their earlier fight, "Wow, I'm surprised Jack wasn't any more angry at me when I used my crow bar against his son."

Skye sarcastically smirked, "Believe me, if you were fighting the Jack of before, he would've probably have been ruthless honestly. I mean for him attacking William is a big no-no, but luckily for you it seemed that Jack learned to control himself a lot better, otherwise you would've been a one dead raccoon."

Phil shuddered a little, "Yeah, I think I got a feel of that when he held on to that bar, dude is really strong for a bunny."

"Don't underestimate him, he's dealt with crap for years now, he's not going to let anything stop him if he could help it." the vixen affirmed.

Emilia wondered if the buck still had that same drive in him, "You think he still would do anything like that?"

"What? Be a fireball? I don't know, haven't seem him in years, just from seeing him now he's become pretty docile, like any other rabbit."

"I have to admire him a little. He sounds like a douche, but his fighting reminds me of a street fighter." the raccoon said.

"He certainly fits the image of that proper gentlemammal from across the ocean. Honestly though, its more or less a ruse, get to know him better and you'll realize he's just like us." Skye said still smiling.

"His son seems more like just an average kid from Zootopia though." Emilia commented from what time they spent 'conversing'.

"He's a nice person, but I suspect he might be suffering a little from trying to be too much to be like his father sometimes."

In truth, Skye knew William fairly well already, which resulted from her conversations with Jack and observing the cat herself.

"I'm going back to sleep..." Skye said.

Emilia got off the bed, "Sweet dreams."

After morning broke there was footsteps entering the hallway, "Look pretty, our ticket out of here is coming." Phil said to the lynx.

Officer Wolford walked down to their cell and held some keys, "You're being freed, the charges against you were dropped and Officer Hopps requested you'd be released as soon as possible. By the way, someone's here to pick you up."

The lynx yawned, "Great, I'm going home to sleep. Skye, we're leaving." she said nudging the napping vixen.

Skye immediately woke up and sat up, "Finally. Let's get out of here."

* * *

Nick curled up in his bed, the air in his room was slightly chilly despite the heater being on, and it was annoying enough that it forced him to wake up.

He opened his eyes and grabbed his phone, taking a look at the screen indicated that it was still early in the morning. But unfortunately for him there was work today, so regardless he would need to wake up soon.

He yawned and proceeded to attempt to sit up on his bed, but something held his stomach down. He looked down and nearly gasped, Judy had her arms wrapped around his body, he forgotten that she decided to join for the night. Though there was no evidence of any activity between them, he still felt a little excited that she was sleeping with him in bed.

"Carrots?" he quietly called out to her, but she was still in a deep sleep.

Nick as he normally was for sleepwear was only in his boxers, he felt that Judy was wearing a t-shirt so there was no direct contact between them, despite that the fox's mind raced to his more ulterior motives, and he lifted the blankets. " _Damn, she's not wearing any underneath that t-shirt..."_

Nick has seen her nude before, but only in public where there was no chance of any close encounters between them, but now that it was only them in his bed, he began to feel more interested in her body.

It confounded him slightly that a prey would be at ease sharing a bed with him, but she didn't seem to mind the slightest, he figured it was because of their close friendship making her feel comfortable being around him.

She muttered, " _Nick..."_ she snuggled closer to his chest, however for the fox it caused unwanted reactions from his body. And soon his boxers were beginning to tighten.

"Fuck not now!" he muttered as he felt himself harden with the doe pressing against him.

He forcefully let himself go from her grip and got off the bed to take a quick shower.

Inside the bathroom he turned on the water in the shower to let it warm up, and as he suspected when he removed his boxers he was at full mast.

He rolled his eyes, "Can't even control myself over a dumb bunny. Why couldn't she just stayed on the couch?"

As soon as the shower was at the correct temperature he entered inside, "Well, nature calls I guess..."

Meanwhile the sound of the shower running woke up the doe on the bed, she drowsily opened her eyes and she realized that she slept on Nick's bed.

She groaned as she forced her awake, "Nick?"

The shower indicated to her that he was in there, she got up and sleepily dragged herself to the bathroom, "Nick, are you nearly done? I need to use the bathroom." she called out through the door.

The lack of response prompted her to turn the knob, to her surprise it was unlocked, "Hello?" she said peeking her head through the opening.

"Holy merciful carrot..." she gasped, the glass door somewhat obscured the fox but the general shape regardless was clear enough to Judy to realize what he was doing.

She closed the door softly as not to catch his attention and she simply walked back to the bedroom and laid down on the bed again, processing what she just witnessed.

" _I just watched Nick touching himself, what kind of sick pervert am I?"_ she asked herself, " _I really hope doesn't find out, if he did..."_

She swore she hear a faint groaning sound from the bathroom, causing her to blush and she covered her ears with a pillow, " _Just end my miserable existence right now."_

Even with the pillow she could still hear the shower going, all she could do was lied down on the bed trying not to die of embarrassment. The doe despite knowing the fox for a few months now, along with adjusting to the less restrictive way of life in Zootopia she still had some issues with nudity and anything particularly sexual.

The sound of water disappearing and along with it the rabbit sighed with relief, "Whew, he's done. He shouldn't have seen me looking at him."

Nick didn't normally bother with redressing in the bathroom as he had no reason to conceal himself, he simply shook him dry inside the shower and after stepping out he was a blow dryer to remove any of the remaining moisture on his fur. He wiped the fog off the mirror and grinned at himself, "Handsome as always Slick." However the thought of his appearance made him think, "Hmm, should change up how I look to do some infiltration. Like a spy." he amused himself.

Exiting the bathroom he entered into his room only to notice the rabbit was now awake and lying down, "Good morning fluff." he greeted with a rather deep tone.

"M-Morning." the doe replied trying not to stare at his crotch area.

"Need to use the bathroom?" he asked while he grabbed a brush.

Judy thought back to her earlier encounter, "No! I'll just use the one at the station!" she answered quite nervously.

The fox raised an eyebrow over her reaction, "Hmm, whatever. Anyways I need to change so uh...shoo. Unless you want a show."

The doe's eyes gradually looked down once again to his hips, "Got it, I'll give you some privacy." she replied, "I'll just um, leave out through this way...oops haha..." she chuckled bumping into the wall behind her.

"You sure acting weird Carrots, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll let you do your business, I mean change!" the doe awkwardly walked out the room and closed the door.

Nick frowned a little, "She's acting like she just saw a crime being committed." he muttered as he removed his towel, "Oh well, probably nothing."

Judy meanwhile was on the other side of the door, she gulped, " _I should just take one peek, just to see if he's being healthy."_ she thought, " _Just one and done."_

She cracked open the door and assuredly the fox didn't pick up the sound, she peeked through the crack with one eye and her ears lifted right up.

The doe found herself at the mercy of the nude fox brushing himself down, "Well, he's been definitely working out. Those arms..."

Drool threatened to escape from her mouth, and deep down she could feel a warmth begin to develop inside her. She never felt any true attraction towards the fox as she never considered foxes to be mate material in general, but now that Nick had went through his paces during the police academy and then on the beat, the resulting physique he developed was now much more noticeable without the police uniform covering him up.

"Sweet cheese and crackers, am I attracted to _Nick Wilde_?" she thought as she continued to admire his body.

The show was over when Nick grabbed his clothing and began covering himself up in the uniform for the day.

Judy shut the door and ran to the couch, before she curled up her fists, "Damn it! Why couldn't you control yourself Hopps! He's a police officer, not your boyfriend!" suddenly the realization hit her, "Wait a minute, I shouldn't be so frisky...those pills!" she groaned now knowing why she had a harder time controlling herself over other males earlier.

However she didn't have them at the moment, meaning she would either have to run down to the pharmacy to purchase a box, or to her house where she kept some in her drawer, either way she knew she couldn't stick around Nick's house anymore because she knew that as the last dose wears off, her mating cycle would threaten to override her consciousness.

Nick left the room with his police uniform applied, "Alright, I'm all dressed and ready, I assume you need to get back home to get your uniform as well?" he said noting the doe continuing to wear sleepwear.

Judy agreed wholeheartedly, "Yeah! In fact, I'm leaving right now!"

"In that? Carrots, even in Zootopia walking only in a t-shirt is still looked down upon."

The doe looked down and groaned, "Where are my pants?"

"On the floor behind the couch. I don't know why you just toss them there though."

Judy quickly grabbed them and attempted to put them back on but a little trouble applying them, "Get. Back. On!" she yelled out as she hopped up and down trying to force them on.

Nick meanwhile watched as her butt jiggled a little from the jumping, " _Damn it, that's another fantasy I have to get rid of..."_ he lamented but continued to watch her struggle anyways.

The doe smiled as she felt them slid completely, "Yes! A-ha! Alright, later!" she said grabbing her phone and opening the front door.

The fox waved goodbye, "See ya."

Nick sighed then unbuckled his belt, "Just one more thing..."

 _ **Another teaser for you good people huh? ;)**_


	16. Chapter 16

" _In local news a local protest against an advocacy group's headquarters in Sahara Square for interspecies relationships has been underway, the estimated crowd size sourced by police has been quoted at nearly 50. Currently the situation remains peaceful, however a counter protest by supporters has caused some concern that it may lead to confrontations."_

William yawned as he laid down in bed on his stomach watching the local news in his bedroom, "Sounds peachy, these bozos need jobs." he commented on the protestors.

" _Its obvious that these protests are a greater trend of increasing polarization in the discourse of politics within City Hall. With the recent events that plagued the mayor's office and to some extent the ZPD the past few months, there has been a noted increase in the citizenry's anger and disillusionment of the government itself, leading to organization and expansion of more radical institutions."_ An elderly black bear commentator explained on the newsstand.

The cat stuck out his tongue and grabbed the remote, "Ugh, these people are getting dumber I swear..."

Jack knocked on his door, "May I come in?"

"Yeah."

The buck entered the room, "I'm going to the station to pick up Skye and bring her back here." he told his son.

Jack noted the cat's tail was straight up in the air, lazily shifting around, a sign he was content if not bored.

William muted the television, "What? Really? You're bringing her here?" he asked somewhat surprised.

Jack nodded, "Yes. I'm more comfortable if I can keep an eye on her, rather than letting her go."

The cat checked the clock, "Its so early though, can't you wait a little while?"

"After the interrogation yesterday I'm certain she is rather tired of being under any authority." he said leaning against the doorway.

"But wouldn't it be awkward to have her here? I mean you two broke up." William pointed out with concern about how his father was planning to arrange her living here.

"You don't need to worry about that, just make sure to be polite to her in the time that she will be taking residence here." Jack instructed.

William nodded, "I mean she seems nice enough, plus she seems to still like us."

Jack himself was a little unsure whether or not it would be preferable for Skye to go back into whatever life she was in up until yesterday, but the buck decided that for her own safety, it would be beneficial for her to stay with them for the meantime.

"You coming or not?" Jack asked his son.

The cat shrugged, "Sure, I got nothing to do anyways since I called in sick to school earlier."

His father gave a slight smile and applied his sunglasses, "Smart move."

The ride back to the station was mostly uneventful as William opted to take a nap since it was still fairly early in the morning which left Jack to deal with only his own thoughts the entire drive.

As Jack pulled to the front side of the station, Skye with her friends stood there with Officer Wolford standing with her.

"Jack Savage?" the wolf asked the driver.

"That's me. Is she ready to go?"

Wolford nodded, "Yup, all the paperwork went through by Officer Hopps before she left. They're all yours, have a good day." he said before going back inside the station.

Jack got out the car and walked to the group, "Good morning."

"Hey." Phil and Emilia both said.

"Morning!" Skye greeted the bunny.

Jack sighed, "Right. You two." he pointed towards the raccoon and lynx, "You have a place to stay?"

Phil smiled, "Kind of. I live with a roommate not far from here."

Emilia shook her head, "I'm more of a couchsurfing kind of girl."

"So how do you want to do this?" Jack asked them.

The two looked at each other, and Emilia shrugged, "I don't know. Skye, what about you?"

The vixen smiled at them, "I'm actually probably staying with Jack for now."

Phil snickered, "Ooh, looks like the couple is back together." he teased.

Skye looked at Jack, "You sure you don't mind?"

The rabbit shook his head, "Not at all, I have more than enough room for all of you in fact."

The three was shocked by his generosity, "You serious? You would take all of us?" Phil flabbergasted.

"It'll be fine, and I'm sure William will be fine with others in the house."

The buck turned around and sighed as he saw that the cat was still sleeping, "Give me a moment."

Jack was a strict father, but he didn't pass a chance to be playful with his son either.

The car was unlocked so he simply open the door however it didn't awake his son so the rabbit went up to his ear, "Aw, is my little kitten napping again?"

William shuffled in his sleep, "Go away..."

Phil looked at Jack like he became a completely different rabbit, "What the fuck? Didn't you just say that he's some kind of certified killer?" he asked Skye.

The vixen chuckled, "Forgot that people have different parts to their personalities have you? Just watch."

Jack grabbed his shoulder, "If you don't wake up I'll have to resort to desperate measures." he said in a higher pitched tone than usual.

The cat grumbled a little, "Mm..."

The rabbit gave a mischievous smile, "You've leave me no choice then."

Jack began to tickle the cat's stomach, "Here's the tickle monster!"

The cat woke up and began to laugh hard, "No! Dad! Not the tickle monster! Haha! Stop! Dad!"

Jack stopped, "Have a good nap there?"

William squinted his eyes as the strong morning sun broke through into his open pupils, "Why did we stop? Are we already-" he then noticed the other three standing there with Skye and Phil trying hard not to laugh.

Suddenly William felt the need to disappear into a shadowy place, "Y-You didn't see anything! Oh my god, Dad! Why did you do that?" the cat demanded from his father.

"Just taking the piss William, a father can't have any fun with his child?" the buck asked innocently.

"Treating me like a kitten in front of people is taking the piss? I swear if we weren't in front of a police station."

Emilia chuckled, "Aw, you didn't tell me Jack was _that_ kind of dad."

William could feel his masculinity being crushed by the others demeaning him, making the cat suffer in self-confidence and he attempted to hide his face from their sight.

"Don't let the title of Agent Savage fool you, at the end of the day I'm still just Jack Savage." he said to Emilia smiling.

"You didn't need to humiliate me in front of them to show that you're just another average dad!" William protested.

"Oh, but it was bundles of fun, can't be a father without taking his son's standing down a few pegs now can I? Maybe when you have children someday you'll understand." Jack said.

Seeing these kinds of interactions between Jack and William made Skye wish that they did indeed married earlier. Instead the vixen was happy enough with the opportunity to be able to at least see them again.

Skye walked up to Jack and William, "He's so cute when he's mad like this. He reminds me of you actually." she said pointing out the similarities between them.

"Is that so? Glad to see I'm rubbing off on him." Jack replied.

Phil and Emilia joined them, "Do we got a daddy's boy?" Phil poked fun at the cat.

William growled in frustration, "Shut up already..."

"Come now, be nice to your guests." Jack reprimanded his son, "On our way then." he said walking to the driver's seat.

The entire ride home was torture for the cat as his father recounted story after story of humiliation towards his son.

"When William was younger, he would sneak into my bed when he had nightmares or if he was scared of the dark." Jack recalled.

Skye chuckled at the cat, "A real scaredy cat huh?"

William didn't bring headphones so he was forced to endure the embarrassment, "Ugh..."

"That time when he came home completely covered in mud head to tail." Jack added, "Also when I caught him dancing in the living room in his underwear to a Furgie song."

Phil laughed out loud, "Ha! Caught you slipping huh?" he said referencing one of the songs.

"Oh yeah? How about when you got drunk enough that you trying digging a hole in the ground?" William shot back at Jack.

The raccoon grinned, "I'm loving this fight right now."

Jack laughed nervously, "Now William..."

"No! I'm done with you shit talking about me, I'm dishing out the dirt for real!" William exclaimed.

Emilia grinned rubbing her paws together, "Ooh, this gonna be good."

"What do you mean? You know I'm not actually trying to hurt you." Jack attempted to assure his son.

"You talking down to me as though I'm ten again! I'm not, and I really would like it if you stopped treating me like one!"

"Fine, no more joking around then. I guess you're past the stage of having fun with your father then."

William rested his head on the window beside him, "Definitely way past that."

* * *

After Nick finished his personal 'business' the fox prepared for his personal spying mission by collecting some fur dye and some old clothing from the back of his closet before he left for the police station, where he expected today to be an interesting day, due to having to make a request to Chief Bogo concerning the infiltration of a predator supremacist group.

In Zootopia there was of course prey and predator supremacist groups, conflicts between them did arise from time to time mostly out of sight of the public, so for most citizens within the city itself they don't particularly care to focus attention to such groups of mammals.

However for police, they recently had become more of a headache to manage as there has been a noted increase in property damage, assault, and even murders between these groups which has been forcing the police department to divert some of their resources towards suppressing their activities, this led to the undesired result of some backlash from some of the prey and predator population as they felt the police were beginning to push too hard on infringing their rights.

Nick found himself sometimes at the crosshairs of these accusations, where some of these prey who exhibited more hardline attitudes towards predators in the first place had visibly shown their displeasure and hostility towards him and sometimes to Judy as well, for different reasons.

At the station Nick entered as he normally would through the lobby, greeting Clawhauser along the way to his desk, "Morning." the fox greeted the overweight cheetah.

Clawhauser swallowed some of his sugary cereal, "Morning Nick!" he noticed the lack of an energetic bunny next to him, "Where's Judy? Is she sick?" he asked with some concern.

Nick shrugged, "I don't know, she said she was going home first, and will probably be here soon."

"Home? Where was she then?"

The fox chuckled, "At my house."

The cheetah dropped his bowl and gasped, "No way! You guys were together?"

Nick nodded, "Yeah, we watched some TV, ate some pizza. The usual."

"Really? You sure you didn't do anything else?" the cheetah asked intently.

"Not really, just us hanging out." Nick replied nonchalantly.

The cheetah huffed, "Aw! You guys would be such a great couple though!"

Nick shushed the cheetah, "Shh! Don't talk about that kind of stuff so loud."

Clawhauser nodded, "Sorry, I just get so excited seeing you guys together. Or with Jack."

"Me and Jack?" Nick laughed, "Jack isn't into guys last time I checked, even if he's into foxes."

"Can't you try to 'convince' him?" the cheetah said.

"Oh, I convinced himself alright. Gave me a nice scrubbing down at the shower yesterday." he said smirking.

Clawhauser let out an unnaturally high pitched scream while he covered his mouth, "Really? Tell me!"

Nick opened his mouth but closed it again and shook his head, "Nah, Jack isn't going to suddenly give into me. Besides, I think prefer Carrots over him any day honestly."

"I understand, too bad, Jack and you would also be the cutest couple in Zootopia right now!" he exclaimed happily.

"It wouldn't be a _romantic_ relationship I can tell you that, but there would still be plenty of fun in it." Nick replied, "Hand me a donut will ya, buddy?"

The cheetah nodded, "Pick one out, I've got a baker's dozen from the place down the street."

Nick licked his lips and picked out a blueberry flavored one, "Thanks dude, see ya later."

He walked down to the chief's office and finished the rest of his donut, normally the fox delegated the talking to Judy, but now he was on his own.

" _What can go wrong?"_ he thought as he knocked on the door.

"Come in." the buffalo called out.

Nick fully opened the door, "Am I interrupting something?"

The chief was reading a book, "No, what do you want?" he gruffed.

"It concerns the case with Agent Savage."

The buffalo frowned, "Speak then."

"Are you by chance familiar of a group that goes by the name 'Westwood Pathfinders'?"

Bogo sighed, "Very."

Nick grinned, "Excellent, in this case, I'm asking permission to infiltrate this group, under disguise of course."

The chief raised an eyebrow, "This sounds questionable, not only because of the effectiveness of espionage, but also because it isn't without precedent that an officer asks to look into predator or prey supremacy groups and return espousing those same ideas once they return."

"Really? I can promise you I'm not going to come back a predator supremacist, I'm sure I know where my values stand to be influenced like that." Nick said holding his paw over his heart.

"Very well. I'll allow it, I assume you'll need to change appearance as not to arouse suspicion." Bogo stated, "I trust you'll collect relevant info, not only for the case, but for the entire operation as well in case we knew to deal with them later."

The fox was taken aback a little at the buffalo's lack of resistance to the idea but nodded anyways, "You know it, I already have thought up a disguise for myself. You wouldn't even recognize me." he boasted.

"I'll believe when I see it, and for the duration of this little...sneaking around, please don't get arrested, it would stir up too much trouble if an officer was found to be part of this group."

Nick stood tall and saluted, "Got it chief."

"Don't screw this up." Bogo warned before returning to his book.

Nick nodded and left the room, "Wow, that was much easier than I thought, maybe I should talk more often to him..." he said to himself, "Time to pay those tigers a visit."

* * *

Judy sprinted into the lobby, "Clawhauser! Where's Nick?" she asked the cheetah gasping for breath.

"Nick? He went to the chief's office I think." he replied.

The doe grabbed the counter for support, "I'm five minutes late...the chief is not going to be happy."

"How come you're late anyways?"

Judy sighed, "Well I left Nick's house because I had to get some pills because I'm in season. But when I came home there wasn't any left! I then had to put on my uniform and run all the way to the pharmacy to buy some more. But I didn't have time to take them because I came straight here!"

Clawhauser was utterly surprised, "You haven't take the pills yet? Are you okay?"

Judy groaned, "No, my body's killing me, and other bucks were looking at me with _those_ eyes."

Her point was made when a spotted brown buck being escorted in cuffs spotted her and whistled at her, "Looking fine babe! Come into my cell later, I'll give you something to fix that problem of yours!" he teased before being shoved by the officer behind him.

The doe shuddered, "You see? They can _smell_ me, they look at me like I'm some kind of tasty meal!"

The cheetah felt empathy for her, "Do you want me to help you?" he asked ready to protect her from other males that may want to do something towards her.

Judy shook her head, "No. I'll just take my pills at my desk, I'll be fine, see you later!" she assured the cheetah before dashing off.

The rabbit arrived at her desk in record time, she retrieved the pill bottle from the pouch on her side, the brand was different than what she usually bought.

Judy was exasperated by the bottle's directions, "It'll take an three to six hours for it to take effect? But I need it now!"

She groaned as she felt the cramps kick in, "Damn it, I'll need to lay low for now." she promptly took the dose and washed it down with water.

"I need to distract myself." she muttered as she booted up her computer.

Officer Delgato came to her cubicle carrying a folder, "There you are Officer Hopps, here are papers needed to be reviewed and signed."

The doe's heart skipped a beat as her eyes meant the lion's, "Y-Yeah, thanks..."

"You okay? You seem a little sick."

The doe felt herself losing control, "I'm fine! Really! Don't worry about me!"

Delgato crouched down to her eye level, "You're sweating, and panting, are you sure don't have a cold or something?"

Suddenly the doe felt the thought of having some fun with a lion wasn't so prohibitive, "Healthy as a horse! I mean, yeah, just fine! Touch my forehead, see?"

The lion did as she asked, "Hmm, you're not burning up there right now."

Judy grinned, "My forehead isn't for sure..."

The lion was surprised as the doe grasped his paw, "You wouldn't happen to be busy right now?"

The look in her eyes made the lion uncomfortable, "Look, I have to get going..."

Her grip got stronger, "Wait! I uh...need to know who sent these!"

"Same guy who always does it, Mr. Mallard. The guy distributes these files." Delgato told the rabbit.

She sniffed his strong musk and shuddered, "Is there anyone in the locker room?"

"Not that I've seen, why?"

Judy giggled and made the lion yelp a little as she reached for his collar, "I need some help with something." she lustfully called out to the lion.

"You didn't take your pills did you?" The lion questioned.

"I did take them. Is that a gun in your pants or are you happy to see me?" she teased.

Delgato stood straight up and covered his crotch in embarrassment, "You're lucky I'm not considering filing an harassment complaint against you!" he yelled out blushing and briskly walking away.

Judy snapped out her drowsy, aroused state, "No! Wait! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." she groaned and slammed her head on the desk.

"Rough morning Carrots?"

The doe looked up, "What do you want Nick-" her mouth was left open.

"Shocked? Good, that means it worked."

"Nick! I hardly recognized you! You look so different!"

The fox's fur was now a dark brown with black and gray splotches and his eyes were now a hazelnut color, while he dressed in a gray hoodie and dark blue jeans. Overall it gave the fox a much grittier image than before, greatly contrasting with his previous appearence.

"Like it? Took me a little bit of time in the shower to apply it all the way through, but I feel it settled in nicely."

Judy had to admit that the fur color did fit him quite well, "You look great."

"I'm tempted to prank the other officers right now with this disguise." he said pondering the idea.

Judy shook her head, "Please don't."

"It's a joke fluff." Nick deadpanned, though he was half-serious.

"You think you can really get to them like that?" she asked now a little worried about his well-being.

"No backing out now, Bogo already sent his blessings, and this dye takes a while for it wear off." Nick explained.

Judy bit her lip, Nick was attractive to her before but now he looked like an almost completely different person, and her mind started thinking of possible scenarios to play with this new look.

"Did you think of a new name or anything?" she asked.

Nick grinned, "Rick Steelport."

"Dumb name." Judy decided immediately.

"Dumb bunny." Nick retorted.

Judy crossed her arms, "I assume this means for now you're not going to need me around?"

"Course I do, but we'll keep in contact on the phone." he said pointing at her phone.

He noticed the bottle tucked away in the corner and couldn't pass up the opportunity, "Oh, I see you finally remembered to get those pills."

The doe gasped and hid them in her pouch, "I had to buy some at the store, I didn't have time to take them at home!"

" _I_ _f I wasn't so horny I would punch you right now."_ Judy thought to herself.

"Has it started working yet?"

The doe rolled her eyes, "If you knew about how this worked you know it normally takes a while before it kicks in."

"Sure, whatever, as long as you don't pounce on any guy here and start grinding on them demanding their children." he sarcastically warned the doe.

"I won't, unlike being a male I at least have a set time to control my urges." Judy shot back.

Nick held up his paws, "Below the belt attacks Carrots? I thought you were better than that."

"Whatever, shouldn't you be heading out right now?"

"I was, but hearing that you were here I wanted to say hello to my favorite bunny."

"Well, hello then. I'm going to do my paperwork now if you don't mind." she said focusing her attention to the computer.

Nick pouted playfully, "No kiss on the cheek for good luck?"

Judy sighed and stood up planting her lips on his cheek, "There. Happy?"

The fox was temporarily in shock as he didn't expect her to actually follow on his request, "Y-Yeah, thanks. I'll see you later." he said walking away and holding his cheek.

Judy began looking through her paperwork, "Don't do any stupid Slick."

 _ **Well I've been kind of gradually raising the content rating throughout the story the past few chapters, after this chapter this story will have a hard M rating from now on, just to let you guys know. :)**_


	17. Chapter 17

_**I should point out that this chapter contains scenes of drug use. Thank you for reading this warning. :)**_

"Certainly isn't much of a day to be walking around." Nick muttered to himself noting the clouds beginning to develop in the sky and the declining temperatures.

During the walk several blocks down to the suspect's house the disguise seemed to be working as he was walking past by stores the people working in there that normally talked to him didn't recognize him whatsoever, and with it the return of those sneers and the staring that used to pervade the fox had returned as well.

" _Never change Zootopia, never change.._." Nick thought as he watched a mother otter tugged her daughter closer to her.

"What a couple of dumb scared prey..." a feminine voice spoke out with disdain.

The brown fox turned to find the tigress from earlier scoffing at the otters on a bench on the sidewalk.

" _Well I'll be, that's some luck right there if I saw any. Time to make a good first impression."_ Nick contemplating how to approach her.

Nick knew that he had to adopt his new personality in order to better fit the ideals of what predator supremacists looked for, despite the behavior validating beliefs about predators.

Nick grinned at the otter family, "Aw, little pipsqueak is scared of a little sharp teeth?" He chuckled, "Keep mommy close to you, because that's the only comfort you're going to get in the city."

"Don't you dare talk to my child like that! She has much of a right to be in this city as you!" the mother shot back quite angrily.

" _Her_ rights? Don't make me laugh, she has _privileges,_ and they are only given because us preds feel bad they prey will always be under us in the natural hierarchy."

The young otter trembled slightly behind her mother as the dark brown fox continued to bare his teeth, "He's scary!"

The fox sneaked a quick glance towards the tigress and was glad to have caught her attention, and luckily not any others that could concern him.

"Good. Be scared, you'll last longer here. And that goes for your mommy as well."

"I'm calling the police! You can't threaten us like this!" the mother cried out in sheer anger.

Nick tapped his foot, "Call them, I'm sure the police would be happy to respond to a complaint about my free speech rights."

"Foxes like you disgust me, always thinking that they own this city! Zootopia belongs to everyone!" the female otter exclaimed to the fox.

" _You're right, I'm so sorry, if only I could tell you why I'm doing this."_ the fox lamented but he continued the persona.

"That's nice, however keep an open eye. Prey like you don't last long around these parts when they think they can waltz freely anywhere they want." he warned with his smile turning into a hostile one.

The otter grabbed her daughter and promptly walked away from the seemingly deranged fox.

"Wow, you showed them." the tigress said quite surprised at the fox's public hostility display.

Nick turned around and rolled his eyes, "Prey. I'm sick of them thinking that they can really stand up to me just because some dumb bunny somehow managed to become a police officer." he dismissed referencing Judy's public ascension.

The tigress sarcastically laughed, "Damn right, the little whore probably used her special rabbit 'talents' to fuck her way up into the police."

The fox internally raged at her demeaning opinion towards rabbits and Judy in general but for the sake of the mission he kept it to himself, and instead pretended to agreed and continued to smile, "Probably. Too bad its the only way rabbits know to communicate with others, to fuck them."

"I like you, you know what the hell's going on. What's your name?" she asked now interested in the fox.

"Rick. Rick Steelport." he answered.

"Vanessa."

"Pleasure. So I guess you also are aware about the prey situation huh?" he asked.

The tigress scoffed, "You know it, these little fuckers have been ruining Zootopia with their insistence to be treated like we are equal, biggest load of bullshit if I ever saw it."

"Tell me about it, I had a prey boss, he thought he could tell me to do whatever he wanted me to do, and I told him to go fuck himself."

"It goes against nature, prey telling predators what to do. If this was back in the old days, we would tell them how we wanted them to be cooked." she said grinning.

Nick chuckled, "Wouldn't that be nice, I can't believe how much this city's changed, back then we were in charge and the rest knew why."

"It isn't too late you know, just take over city hall, get rid of those stupid so called 'equality' laws and tell the prey to give back the city to us, and if they say no, sic the police on them."

Nick couldn't imagine the ZPD turning against the city's inhabitants in such a manner, and it bothered him mightily on how Vanessa felt about how Zootopia should be ran.

"What would you do then?" he asked wondering about her methods.

She scowled, "Don't know, probably kick them out of Downtown itself, its too nice to be overrun with them. Hell, I would just keep the entire city off limits. What about you?"

The fox thought fast, "Hmm, throw the protesting ones in jail probably for a start. Don't know much else honestly, but I do want to do something."

"I can think of something that might fit your need, if you want." she suggested.

"I'm all ears."

She looked around, "My place is close by, we can talk about it some more."

Nick smirked, "Lead the way."

"You've ever been arrested or sent to prison?" the tigress began asking the fox as they walked down the sidewalk.

"Been arrested once, no prison time though." Nick answered.

"Arrested for what?"

Nick scoffed, "I was just selling some pawsicles on the street when apparently even with the right licenses they still thought I was violating health regulations."

"Ha, those dumb pigs, that badge has really gone to their heads."

Nick had some legitimate grievances with the police force as every officer did, even Judy, but he still felt that the ZPD generally did a good job at keeping the peace in the city.

The fox already knew of the location, so he knew that he was at the right place when they arrived.

"Here we be." she said.

"Nice place." Nick replied, " _F_ _or a couple of turds like you."_

They walked up the stairs and she opened the unlocked door.

"Give me a sec, Ben!" she shouted walking up the stairs.

Nick whistled as he took a good look around the inside of the house, "Questionable taste in interior decoration...smells like a brothel, yup everything I expected of them."

Vanessa returned with the male tiger, "Rick, this is Ben, my boyfriend."

The tiger grinned, "What up fox?"

"Charmed."

The tigress chuckled, "He's pretty much a dumbass, but he's my dumbass."

"Damn straight, babe." He said as he wrapped his arm around her waist and they both proceeded to share a kiss.

"Ah-hem." Nick coughed.

"Sorry, Ben, our guest is interested in our cause. This should be great since our friends are coming right now actually." Vanessa told Ben.

"Really? Great!" the tiger enthusiastically exclaimed.

"Now, you're not a narc right?" she asked suspiciously.

Nick growled, "Does it look like I'm a fucking cop? The ZPD could go suck my dick for all I care since prey run it now, as if I would work for them."

The tigress gained some trust for the fox, "Great. But we need to check some things first."

The fox wasn't sure what to expect, all he could hope for was that they didn't catch on to his true identity.

"Cool, I'm game." he told Vanessa nodding.

Vanessa grabbed her ringing phone, "Yeah? Cool, we're here." she said, "Okay, we got a newbie here by the way, yeah, bye."

"Newbie? I'm hurt." Nick said faking his offense.

"Aw, sorry to hurt the little foxie's heart." Vanessa sarcastically apologized.

"Should I get the stuff?" Ben asked the tigress.

She nodded, "That'll be great sweetie."

"The stuff? What stuff?" Nick asked despite already knowing what it was.

"You'll see, I think it'll be something you'll enjoy."

Ben returned empty-handed visibly upset, "I can't find it!"

Vanessa looked towards him, "Find what?"

"The fucking box!"

Nick internally snickered, " _No partying for you today sniffy boy."_

 _"_ Check the basement, there should be more." Vanessa told her boyfriend.

Ben nodded and went down the hallway and opened the door to the basement.

"So, before we get into having join our lovely little club I must ask, you sure you want to be part of our group?"

"Might as well, it would be nice to keep company with people that are fighting against the corrupted system." he affirmed.

The tigress grinned, "I hoped you would say that."

Ben returned with a brown bag, "Here it is, this is a fresh batch from yesterday."

He set the bag down on the table in front of Nick.

"Ah, perfect, Rick you're a lucky fox." She said walking to the kitchen.

Nick looked at the ominous bag and sighed, the fox stayed away from drugs for good reason, he had enough trouble being out on the streets selling his pawsicles before he became a cop, doing drugs would've greatly complicate his situation further.

Vanessa returned with a small plate, "You've ever done Roaring Sugar before?"

Nick shook his head, "Never, I'm not really into this kind of stuff honestly."

"Well, it'll make you feel a lot better, take it from me and Ben."

She poured some out from the bag unto the plate, the green powder had a vague smell of herbs in it and not much else.

"I just sniff it?" Nick asked pointing at it.

Vanessa nodded, "Just one sniff and it'll go to work."

" _Well this is it I guess, s_ _orry for this, Carrots..."_

The fox held up the plate to his face, and planted his nose right on the powder, he let out a deep breath and snorted as much as he could into his nostrils.

The immediate feeling that first came to him was a burning sensation in his nose in response to the foreign particles entering them, shortly after that he could feel it reaching his lungs.

His entire body shook and Nick gasped, "Nnh...whew..." his left arm began to shake enough that he nearly dropped the plate itself, his pupils dilated, and a surge of energy enveloped his entire body.

Ben chuckled, "Yep, definitely his first time, look at him go." he told Vanessa as they watch the fox fully react to the drug.

"Fuck me...this feels incredible." Nick said as his eyes were wide open, he felt that he had more energy than ever before, his tail wagged so hard it shook his entire body with it.

Vanessa chuckled, "Like it?"

Nick laughed loudly, "I can't feel my face, I can't really feel anything!"

"Well, enjoy it while it lasts, because our guests are here." Vanessa announced to Nick as she saw them walking up the stairs.

The fox was on high alert with his ears perked up and his breathing now accelerated, "Yeah yeah, let them in." he said.

The other guests began filtering in, the fox counted every single one that entered, "There's eight of them."

Vanessa shrugged, "Yeah, so what?"

"N-Nothing..." the fox replied barely controlling himself.

The house was filled with talking and laughter, even though his drugged state Nick observed that despite them all being predator supremacists they still talked about casual topics and hung out like any other party, except there was always this undercurrent of prejudice floating around mostly in the form of jokes but also general resentment.

Some of the rush that Nick felt in the beginning had already began to worn off but the fox still felt a buzz throughout his entire body, "So is this the club then?" Nick asked Vanessa.

"A few members, they come here because its the most convenient spot for them to meet up. But the big stuff happens somewhere else."

"Really? Where?" Nick asked trying to pry more information out of him.

Vanessa smiled, "I'll tell you later, for now we got a meeting to have."

"Everyone sit down here!" she yelled out.

The rest of the crowd sat down around the table.

Nick looked around, most of the members didn't seem to fit the appearance of a common criminal, in fact most seemed like well-adjusted members of society, one of them, a black bear was wearing a tailored suit, he definitely was well moneyed.

The irony was noted by the fox as he looked like a beggar compared to most of them, he could've just came in his regular attire and fit right into the crowd.

"Alright, let's get this meeting on the road. Now, our topic of the day, it seems we've encounter a marked increase in prey-predator relationships in the past few months, I believe it stems from the recent release of a movie that encouraged these unfortunate unions."

There was some grumbling among the audience, "Now, I suspect that some of these predators had been trained from their school days that mating with prey is perfectly acceptable, but is it?"

The fox could hardly concentrate on her speech, his body began to act strangely to the drug; his vision began to blur slightly, he began to hear strange noises, and his could barely control his tail, "Nnh, if you can excuse me." he said as calmly as he could.

"Now, luckily for us it seems lately there has been some preds that have learned about these things that worry us, and they are starting to show interest in helping us get rid of these tumors to society!"

Nick gritted his teeth, " _Keep it together Nick! I need to find out where Hunter is!"_

"If I may, my wife and I are concerned that the school system and the government is implanting these outrageous ideas in our children's heads, little Kevin tried to bring a lamb home. A lamb! Had to tell my son about the dangers of letting prey into our house!"

The drug made the fox feel restless and more aggressive, he kept on eyeing Vanessa's body as he could feel himself wanting female attention. Soon it was too much for the fox to handle in public view.

He ran to the bathroom and shut the door, upon looking at the mirror he saw his bloodshot eyes. " _What the fuck is happening to me! That drug is worse than I thought!"_ he thought as his paws gripped the counter.

This felt different from acting feral, it was also different from being 'civilized', it was an unstable in between stage, and he couldn't cope well with this strange sensation.

He guessed that the dosage he took was tailored for a tiger, not a much smaller fox, his paws twitched, " _I need to go to the hospital!"_

Suddenly nausea crept up in his stomach and he kneeled down to the toilet, " _Ugh, how could other people do this stuff?"_

There was a knock on the door, "Rick! You okay there?" Ben asked through the door.

"I'm f-fine, just on the toilet!" he answered back.

"Oh okay, I was worried that you took too much!"

" _Now you fucking tell me."_ Nick grunted after which he expelled his stomach's contents into the toilet.

* * *

"I don't have much on me right now." Skye said to Jack as he pulled up the house.

The buck sighed, "I'm not charging any of you for anything alright? I just wanted to be sure you were safe."

"Sweet digs. I call top bunk." Phil joked which earned a nudge from the lynx.

"Cut it out, be happy we get to even sleep outside of a jail cell." she told the raccoon.

"Do I have to share my room with any of them?" William asked his father a little worried about the living arrangements.

"Course not, Phil and Emilia will be using the guest bedroom, and Skye will be sharing the bedroom with me." he stated.

For a moment there was awkward silence in the car, only to be broken by William himself, "Uh, Dad, isn't that a little...weird?"

"I won't mind, it's just for a few days at most anyways." Skye assured the others.

Emilia frowned at the vixen, "Sharing a bed with an ex sounds like a pretty stupid thing for you to do." she pointed out.

Jack sighed, "I assure you that nothing is going to happen between us for the duration of her time here."

"Good, because last thing I want to hear is my Dad bonking someone in bed." William complained as they exited the car.

"Trust me, I would let you know ahead of time if I was going to engage in such relations." Jack assuaged his son's worries.

"You telling me you haven't got any since you adopted me?" the cat questioned his father.

The raccoon snickered, "Poor Jack hasn't gotten any tail? I thought being an agent with that sort of accent would be an absolute chick magnet."

Jack unlocked the front door with a key, "I did not say anything about my lack of 'getting tail', I just didn't want William to grow up hearing such acts being committed in the house." he explained.

"So, if there's a sock on the door handle, I skedaddle?" the cat asked.

His father groaned, "Enough of those questions, show our guests to their rooms."

Skye stood next to William, "Don't worry sweetie, I won't cause any trouble for you while I'm here okay?"

He rolled his eyes, "Whatever, anyways let's go upstairs."

He escorted the raccoon and lynx to a room furthest down the hallway, "This is the guest bedroom, please keep it clean, and I'm not just talking about garbage."

Phil was certainly impressed by the well-appointed room, "Damn, you keep this room just for people visiting? Fuck me you guys must be loaded." he said as he flopped onto the bed.

Emilia joined the raccoon, "Wow this is one soft bed, I could sleep here for days."

William shut the door, and Phil chuckled at Emilia, "You know, we should-"

"No way."

William guided Skye towards Jack's room, "This is where you're staying...my dad's room." he droned on.

The room was fairly dark as the curtains covered the window, there was a rather large bed fit for more of a large sized mammal rather than a single rabbit, but it was very clean and modern inside, which fit with Jack's personality.

The vixen could smell the buck's scent all over the room, it was the same as she remembered, "Thank you. I'll try not to make any ruckus."

William sighed, "I hope you do."

"Is something the matter?" Skye asked a little worried about his mood.

The cat shook his head, "I just need time to process you being here now, but I'll come around sooner or later."

Jack arrived at his room as well, "Is it too much a bother, I can rearrange it a little."

"It's lovely, Jack."

William nodded, "I'll leave you two alone." he said as he returned to his room.

The vixen and buck entered his room and he closed the door, "I hope this isn't too much of an inconvenience." Jack apologized to the vixen.

"It's fine Jack, really, don't worry about it."

He sighed, "I need to check in with the ZBI later today so I can't be here long, so might as well get it out of the way."

The buck turned around towards Skye and reached up to her face, leading her to be confused, "Jack, what are you-mmh!"

Jack pressed his lips against her, the sudden shock that first gripped the vixen quickly gave way to a longing to reconnect with him, as she returned the favor and pressed into his as well.

After about a minute Jack let go, but continued to hold her, "I...I can't still tell for sure if I still love you, but it's been far too long." he told her.

Skye saw his eyes begin to water, "Jack, don't cry, I'm here now, aren't you happy?"

"I pushed you away all these years because I didn't want you to come into William's life. It took me too long to realize the truth, you never changed." he said.

Jack returned for another kiss, which she happily reciprocated, "So this is why you really brought me here." she whispered to him.

"Don't mistake this, I'm still not completely sure of myself. But I want to at least make the first step towards mending our relationship."

Skye held the buck in her arms, "Are you sure that you really want to try this again?"

"Try everything, right?" Jack replied mentioning the song.

 _ **Actual reference to the movie aye...**_


	18. Chapter 18

Due to the fact that William called in sick to the academy earlier in the morning, and with Jack deciding for now to stay put to seemingly converse Skye for the time being, the cat didn't have much to do except texting friends or to watch TV.

In these situations where he found himself not having anything to do, his mind would often begin to wander off regardless of what he was doing at the moment. As he laid down on his bed he looked out the window, where there was some yard until the next house, which housed an elderly giraffe couple.

William smiled remembering the first time he met those two a few days after first moving in with Jack, he could recall still being in a mourning mood at the time as that particular day took place the day after attending his parents' funeral, despite being happy that Jack adopted him, he otherwise was in a withdrawn mood.

*Flashback*

"We here go...that's every box. Now to unpack them, mind helping me organize them William...William?" The buck turned to see the kitten on his barren bed looking down to the floor.

Jack walked to him, "You okay?"

The kitten nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine." he quietly replied.

The buck patted his back, "I hope you're managing this okay. I know its very hard right now, please don't feel like you need to suppress your feelings."

"What's going to happen to my old room, my old home?" William asked his new father.

Jack grabbed his son's paw, "It'll be sold to someone else later, it'll be their new home, maybe a new family perhaps?"

"What about my friends? I live so far away now." the kitten sniffed.

"You'll make new ones, I'm sure you'll like this neighborhood, the children here are quite a nice bunch to be around."

The kitten was willing to trust this rabbit to be his father for sure, but for everything else, he felt alone without the support of his parents that the world would swallow him up in its vast size.

"I know, let's visit the neighbors, I'm sure they'll appreciate your company." Jack suggested happily.

"The neighbors? Over there?" the kitten asked pointing at the dark green house next door.

The buck nodded, "Yes, trust me, I have a feeling you and them will connect well."

William followed his father out of his room and walked with the rabbit down to the next house.

"Here we are, the Asterfords." he informed the kitten.

William looked up in awe as the door's height was several times higher than Jack's.

The buck pressed the doorbell button, which activated a rather grand sounding doorbell that wouldn't be out of place in a mansion.

The door opened to reveal a middle-aged male giraffe, "Ah Jack! Good afternoon!" he greeted the buck.

Jack chuckled, "Afternoon Richard, how is Sarah?"

"Doing fine, just doing some painting right now in the back, oh, and who's this little fella?"

William hid behind Jack which was easy for him since he barely came up to the rabbit's shoulders, "H-Hi...Mr. Asterford." he spoke out.

"His name is William, William Savage." Jack told the giraffe.

"Savage huh? This must mean he's your child then?" Richard asked the buck.

Jack grinned and tugged the kitten in front of him, "That's right, he's part of my family now. Go on, say hello."

William didn't know what to do, so he held out his paw, "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

Richard chuckled and stooped down to hold out his own paw, "Jack's already making an example out of you isn't he?"

The kitten's paw was far smaller than Richard, so he settled for shaking his finger instead.

"There you go, that's a proper way to meet someone." Jack praised the kitten.

William smiled at the buck a little, "Thanks Jack."

The buck raised an eyebrow, "What was that?"

"Uh...Dad. Sorry."

"Better, now then, let's meet Richard's wife." Jack instructed his son, and they both followed Richard to the back.

William tried not to fall down as he cranked his neck to look at the impossibly high ceiling, "Wow. Hey Dad, why isn't our house like this?"

The buck was amused by his question, "I'm guessing because we're not fifteen feet tall."

"You've ever been inside a giraffe's house William?" the giraffe asked the kitten.

"No sir, never."

They arrived at to the backyard where Richard slid open the back door, "Honey! Say hi to Jack!"

The female giraffe put down her paintbrush and turned around to greet her neighbor, "Hello Jack, and this is?"

William waved, "Hello Mrs. Asterford, I'm William Savage!"

"Oh! I suppose that means Jack is your father then? Isn't that lovely?"

The kitten ran to Sarah and held out his paw, "It's nice to meet you."

Sarah gave a gentle smile and shook William's paw, "And the same for you dear."

"So this is the orphaned kitten huh?" Richard asked Jack remembering the news.

The buck sighed and tapped his foot, "Yeah."

"You're a very generous rabbit I'll give you that, adopting this little guy after all he's been through."

Jack sat down on the patio chair, "It wouldn't be right to leave him at an orphanage. He would benefit far more with a parental figure in his life." he explained his reason for adopting him, "I felt it would be appropriate to introduce him to you two, considering he's going to be the new resident I didn't want to cause any misunderstandings."

Richard crossed his arms, "Is that so? Even with you being gone all the time for the ZBI?"

"Ah, that's the thing, I anticipate that William will be able to mostly take care of himself, he can eat and bathe himself, and I'm planning to teach him basic household duties such as laundry and cooking when he's a little older."

"You seem confident of his ability to take care of himself, but wouldn't leaving him for potentially days at a time cause abandonment issues for him later on?"

The buck looked at the kitten who was busy talking to Sarah, "Don't worry, I got something up my sleeve."

Meanwhile William got to learn a little more about his neighbors, "How come you guys don't have kids?" the kitten asked.

"We had two, both of them left the house years ago." she explained to him.

"Oh, do they come back at all?" he asked next.

"Of course, every few months or on a holiday they come to visit, my daughter even brings her husband and child with her."

"That's cool, I hope to meet the rest of my family soon."

Sarah held her paws together, "I hope you can learn to accept your new family, I'm sure your parents will be happy to see their child grow up and thrive with his new family."

The kitten's tail dropped, "I hope so too."

"If I recall Jack's family resides in Wolverhampton."

"Wolf...er...ham..." The kitten attempted to recite the name.

"I'm sure your father will be more than happy to help you with pronouncing it if you ask him." Sarah pointed out.

William smiled, "Got it. But isn't Dad from another country? How is he going to take me all the way there?"

"Easier than you think, just a passport and you're good to go."

William remembered Jack mentioning to him that he came from the United Kingdom, aside from seeing a few movies based in the foreign nation itself, he had very little actual knowledge about the place himself.

"That's why Jack talks like that huh?" William mentioned the buck's accent.

"You're right, if you aren't careful you may pick up some of his mannerisms and customs later on. He's made a lot of effort to fit in Zootopia, but he's still very much from the United Kingdom so he'll still mostly act like that."

William chuckled as he imagined Jack dressed up in a fancy suit with a monocle and a cup of tea like in the movies.

"You really think Jack will take me back where he came from?"

"Well since you're part of his family now, he'll most likely would want you to connect with his own family over there. Ah, I should make some tea for him, and for you as well."

"I don't drink tea, though." the kitten told the giraffe.

Jack joined with the kitten, "You'll learn to appreciate it soon, I tend to make some for breakfast and in the evening."

William was unsure, "Um...the evening?"

"Do you drink anything else otherwise?" Jack asked now interested in the cat's previous diet under his birth parents.

"Um, my mom let me drink water, milk, soda..."

Jack tsked, "Unfortunately I don't buy soda, and I'm not going to start for you."

"Aw! But-"

The buck shook his head, "Soda is awful for you, it rots your teeth and you gain weight from it, you'll drink what I provide for you from now on."

"Fine, can I at least have candy?" the kitten begged.

Jack noticed that he was using his eyes to beg, being a rabbit he was used to being called derogatory names for his supposed 'cuteness', so he refused to let the cat push him around with those same eyes, "I will decide if you deserve any candy. If you behave well I might reward you with some."

The kitten happily nodded, "Right, I got it! I'll be a good kitty!"

William ran to the buck to give him a tight hug, which Jack gladly returned, "I'm glad we have an understanding." he said while he petted William's head.

For the first time since Jack adopted him, the kitten felt safe and happy.

*End of Flashback*

William heard a knock of his door bringing him back to focus, "Yeah, come in." he called out.

Skye opened the door, "Hey, how's it going?"

The cat shrugged, "It's going, what's up?"

The vixen sat down on her bed, "Um...so, I'm here to let you know that Jack and I have been talking."

This attracted his attention, "Really? What have you guys been talking about?"

Skye sighed and smiled a little, "He's thinking about getting us back together."

William was surprised by his change of mind, "You serious?"

The vixen nodded, "I just wanted you to know."

The cat suspected since Jack decided to bring her home that he was serious about returning into a relationship with her, but William himself was still unsure whether or not it was a good idea even if he did feel that Skye was a good person.

"Is Dad still here?" he asked.

Skye nodded, "Want me to get him?"

"Please."

The vixen smiled and walked out of the room to retrieve his father, who shortly returned with him.

Jack entered the room, "So, she told you."

"Are you really thinking about this Dad?" William asked.

"Just thinking, I'm not a hundred percent myself, but I want to give this another try to see for sure." Jack replied to his son holding Skye's paw.

"So you two are dating then?"

Skye chuckled, "Sort of. Maybe we're a little too old to 'date.'"

"Too old? People had mistaken Dad and I for brothers one time, I'm sure you guys are still fine."

Jack recalled when that happened at the academy one time, where one of his classmates thought the buck was there to break his son out, making him roll his eyes.

"Anyways, for now this is how its going to be, alright?"

The cat had concerns, "So if this actually works out, do I have to call Skye Mom then?"

"Skye will be fine, I feel that's the best way for us to call each other, William." she answered.

"Fine, I'll call you Skye from now on." William affirmed.

Jack sighed, "Please don't think ill of this situation. I'll try to keep this as simple as I can, and I assume the same for you."

The cat smiled a little, "Okay. I trust you guys. Happy dating." he said before returning to his phone.

"Hmm, that went better than I was expecting..." Jack mused.

"Take this as a good sign for our relationship." Skye told Jack as they left the room and shut the door.

William meanwhile snickered a little, "Hope Dad learns to loosen up a little." His said as his phone vibrated and received a text message.

He recognized the name within the text message sent, "Hmm? It's Tina."

" _Where are you? I haven't seen you in school today?"_

William smiled as he responded, " _Just chillin at home, where r u?"_

 _"_ _Chemistry, the teacher's so boring!"_

" _Wish I was there huh?"_

 _"Nah, rather be at your house."_

The cat grinned remembering the last time she visited her house.

" _Doing what?"_

" _I'll let you take my clothes off_ _;)"_

"Damn, really wish Dad wasn't here right now."

The cat admittedly took advantage of the fact that his father wouldn't be at the house the whole day, and even for days at a time. For him, it gave him plenty of time to have fun with any girls he brought home with him after school.

" _Totally wish I could have you here. But Dad's here right now."_

Even thinking of the female cat coming over was making him feel restless, he began to think of ways to meet her in other locations.

" _My parents aren't going to be home tonight ;)"_

The cat seized the opportunity, " _Give me a sec."_

William left the room and ran to his father's room and knocked on the door, "Dad!"

" _What is it?"_ Jack responded through the door.

"Can I borrow the car tonight?" the cat asked hopefully.

" _What for?"_

 _"_ To uh...watch a movie at the mall!" he replied.

" _Take the bus!"_

"There isn't one that goes there!" William retorted getting frustrated by his father's refusal.

Jack opened the door looking suspicious, "How long you're going to be out?"

"I don't know...like until 6 or 7."

The buck sighed, "Fine, don't scratch it." he permitted his son.

"Yes! Thank you Dad!" the cat triumphantly said before returning to his room.

Jack stood there trying to think of why his son needed his vehicle so urgently but decided to trust him not to cause any trouble as went back into his room to prepare for work.

* * *

Nick coughed out the rest of his vomit and sat back down onto the bathroom floor in a daze as he tried to bring himself back together. By now the drug seemed to have lost a large portion of it's effectiveness in his body, as the fox found himself being able to once again control his body parts and use his senses.

"Fuck...I'm not doing that again, worst experience I've ever had." he told himself as he stood up and moved to the sink where he turned on the water to rinse out any remaining vomit from his mouth. After removing whatever he could take out from his mouth he splashed some cold water on his face, "I need to get back out there."

He opened the bathroom door and looked around where he spotted the crowd was still there, though the meeting itself seemed to have ended much to his annoyance.

He spotted Vanessa talking to one of her patrons, "Hey Vanessa!"

The tigress turned to his voice and smiled, "Hey Rick! I see you've gotten better, that's good!"

Nick frowned a little, "I think you may have given me too much of a dose."

"Actually I gave you the right amount, the first time's always the hardest, then each time it gets easier until you don't even get any negative symptoms from it."

The fox sighed, "You could've told me before about what this drug would do to me."

Vanessa retrieved a beer can from her fridge, "Well now you know, in case you decide to show other people this stuff. You can warn them later." she handed the beer to the fox, who reluctantly accepted it.

He cracked it open and took a sip, hoping for it take some of the vomit taste out of his mouth, which to his relief did.

"Thanks. So did I miss anything while I was in the bathroom?" he asked.

The tigress shrugged, "Err, let's see, the relationship thing, Hector's birthday. And uh, what to do about the prey officers in the ZPD."

Her last subject peaked his interest, "The ZPD?" he asked a little nervously.

She nodded, "According to the roster they made online, a quarter of officers in the police department are prey, including the chief. We plan to 'discourage' any future applicants by reminding them of why they shouldn't attempt to join."

"And how do we accomplish that?"

Vanessa grinned, "We've got a member of our group within their ranks, he happens to train new recruits in the 2nd precinct."

Nick internally gasped, " _What? An officer is a predator supremacist?"_ he thought now quickly going through his list of potential suspects, "And how is he going to 'persuade' these prey recruits not to join?"

"He's got his methods, but for a taste he steers them to an 'alternative' course, which is much harder than even a normal training period for officers, and if they make it, they need his 'personal' stamp of approval which of course, he won't give out."

" _That bastard. Making them go through all that, just to be slapped down."_

Nick nodded, "Uh, do you happen to know what the name of this outstanding guy is?"

Vanessa shook her head, "Nope. I don't even know his species, but I talked to him on the phone before."

" _Damn it, I need to inform the chief about this."_

Nick grinned, "I should talk to him, and say my thanks to help keep our police _clean_." he forced out the last word, which left a nasty taste in his mouth.

"Just a pred doing his job to better our world. I wish I could also thank him in person, but of course he wants to keep anonymous since his boss is a prey. That poor guy, forced to work in the shadows."

"Maybe he'll bring it out to the light huh?"

"He said that he talked to other pred officers in the ZPD, some of them seemed pretty interested in what he's telling them."

" _Shit, this could turn bad if more of the officers become predator supremacists."_

"Yeah, wish him the best of luck." he said with the intent of sarcasm which the tigress didn't pick up.

"So Rick, you got any family? A girlfriend, wife?" Vanessa asked trying to learn more about the fox.

Nick shook his head, "Nope, my old man's dead, and I don't talk to my mother. Single also."

"Rough. Anyways, our next meeting will be at the old Cornerstone Warehouse, I think you might find some new friends."

The fox acted confused, "I've never heard of it."

"It's off freeway 205, exit 23, it's the one right next to the ramp." she explained.

Nick grinned, "Thanks for the help, I greatly appreciate it."

Vanessa nodded, "Course. Anyways, see you tonight."

The fox felt that the earlier sickness from the drug he consumed and acting far out of his morals was worth the information he received from the tigress.

"Well, I'm going to take off then, I was planning to be somewhere else actually."

"That's fine. Stay safe, make sure the prey don't see you with us, they'll do everything to take you down." she warned.

"I think I can handle myself fine, see you later then."

" _I should be careful, she seems a little_ too _trusting of me. I feel something's fishy about this..."_

* * *

By the middle of the afternoon Judy was feeling better thanks to the effectiveness of the hormone suppressing pills she took hours before, leading her to be confident enough to leave her cubicle and walk around the building to chat with the other officers.

"Afternoon Officer Pennington!" she greeted the elephant happily.

The elephant turned her chair and waved at Judy, "Nice to see you, Officer Hopps. You seem better now!"

Judy chuckled, "The pills worked like a charm, feeling much better now."

She noticed the elephant wearing an earbud, "Whatcha listening to?" she asked.

"Oh! It's Justin Timberwolf!" she replied pointing to the blonde wolf on her wall.

"Oh yeah, I've heard of him before. I know some people prefer him to Justin Beaver." Judy said.

The elephant blushed, "I like them both...anyways how's Nick?"

The doe's ears drooped down, "I don't know, hopefully he's okay."

"Don't worry Officer Hopps, he seems like a smart fox, he'll be fine." the elephant assured.

Her phone rang out in which the doe quickly grabbed it and to her relief was Nick's number.

"Nick! Are you okay?" she asked concerned for his safety.

" _Nothing I couldn't handle, got the location of where they meet up at, I'm going to head over there later tonight."_

"You think Hunter will be there as well?"

" _Guess I'm about to find out for myself over there."_

Judy nodded, "Right, I'll be there as well. "

" _You sure? Carrots you're probably the most hated officer right now among them, if they see you who knows what they'll do."_ Nick warned the doe.

"I'll be fine, just make sure to find out more about them and hopefully Hunter will be there as well okay?"

" _Got it. See you there then."_

Judy smiled, "See ya." she said as she hung up.

"Ooh, someone likes Officer Wilde..." Pennington sung out.

"Do I? I guess I do." Judy simply shrugged, "I'm going to get ready for him."

Pennington smiled happily, "Good luck, you and Nick."

 _ **Yes, the United Kingdom, I'm not that creative with place names...**_


	19. Chapter 19

_**This chapter includes sexual content, thanks for reading!**_

"I'm bored..." Emilia droned out as she laid down on the bed.

Phil sighed, "I know, but what can we do? The only person we know here is Skye, and she's busy trying to get in Jack's pants no doubt."

Both of them were rather used to being in less stellar but more exciting circumstances, even after just a hour the two felt the stifling, restrictive of upper class suburbia was too dreary for either of them.

"I rather not bother the kid as well, he's too young to hang out with us anyway." the lynx added.

Phil smirked, "I know a fun way to pass the time..." he suggested brushing his paw against her thigh.

"I don't feel Jack would appreciate us doing it on his bed." she objected to his advance.

The raccoon grinned, "Come on, Jack probably have enough money to replace beds like nothing and there's nothing else to do!"

Emilia smiled back, "You really want it that bad huh?"

Phil reached out to kiss her, but she rejected him, "Wait until we leave at least."

"Well, let's leave this dump now then!"

"What? This place is paradise! I'm getting a free night at a fancy house with a warm bed, and you want to go leave just so we can fuck?"

Phil groaned, "We here go again, sleeping with you is the most difficult thing in my life. Half the time you're not in the mood, and when you are it's never the right fucking location! My dick is hard right now and you're worried about this stupid bed!"

The lynx cringed as the raccoon grabbed a pillow and started to grind his hips against it, "See this? I'm horny as hell right now, with a beautiful girl sharing it! How can I not be mad!"

"Beautiful?"

Phil stopped, "I mean...yeah I said it."

Emilia struggled with the word, "You think I'm beautiful?"

The raccoon blushed, "Of course, why else would I try to do it with you?"

His girlfriend giggled, "Sorry, it's just...ever since we met last month, you have always acted pretty shallow about our relationship, but every so often I see that you really like me."

"I-I...well I mean..." the raccoon sputtered at a loss of words.

"You don't have to say anything, I already know how you feel about me, and I'm happy to return it." she said before giving him a quick kiss on his cheek.

Phil chuckled, "I see you kiss me there on my cheek, but what about-"

"Not going to happen dude."

Meanwhile over at Jack's room the buck busied himself with dressing up for his return to the ZBI headquarters.

"I see you gained a few pounds there Jack." Skye pointed out his nude body.

The buck scoffed, "I've been a father for 7 years and these days being an agent is more paperwork than fieldwork."

The vixen chuckled, "It's okay, I like it, makes you look more substantial."

"More like the average rabbit, though it helps with blending in with others at certain points."

"Lame excuse for having a dad body." she sarcastically commented.

"Should I go on some kind of diet then?" Jack asked as he pulled out his suit from the closet.

"I think you're fine the way you are."

The buck adjusted his tie, "I should get going, the commute to work shouldn't be too bad since it's between morning and lunch right now."

"How long will you be gone for?" the vixen asked.

The rabbit himself had no clue, it could as short as a few minutes, or it could be the rest of the day. Such as the life of being an agent.

"Last time I went down to the headquarters had a couple of meeting with the higher-ups, had a lunch with the financial director over transfer of funds between divisions...took about four hours."

"That's not so bad..." Skye shrugged.

"It doesn't, but the unfortunate reality is that the agency will call me up for various reasons. And it could get quite cumbersome to manage quickly." he explained as he retrieved his badge from the drawers.

"Sounds better than when I was in the agency, I was either the coffee girl or the field agent, they didn't seem to care too much about my schedule." Skye complained.

Jack nodded, "I remember, I'm sure you know now, but they didn't think too highly of you despite you being certainly just as capable as me."

"I wonder if it was because I was just another fox to them."

"I wouldn't doubt that was part of it, yes." Jack admitted solemnly.

The vixen grumbled, "They didn't seem to care about you being a rabbit, that's for sure."

Jack turned around, "I'm sorry, in hindsight I should've attempted to convince them about your abilities, but at the time I wasn't as concerned about others. Just my and later on William's life."

"It's hard to imagine being an agent and a parent at the same time. It must've been pretty difficult." she empathized.

The buck chuckled, "I will have to admit at the beginning I felt I took on too much to handle. But I guess I learned how to balance being a father and an agent, so I consider that an accomplishment. Besides, there are other agents that have children of their own, so it isn't unprecedented."

"And William was okay with it while you were gone?" Skye wondered.

"At first he was rather upset about my job duties, but I managed to accompany his need for a father figure in his life."

Skye's ears perked up, "Hmm? And how did you manage that?"

Jack scratched his head, "I called him at least twice a day; the first time when I arrive at work, and the second at lunch. I gave him a phone that allowed us to communicate face to face on the screen. He enjoyed it very much when we talked as he could show me things he did at home like a drawing he made, a book he was reading, a TV show or movie that he liked."

"Ever resourceful my Jackie is, you sure are pretty dedicated about your responsibilities. Even giving a kitten a smartphone just so he could see his dad more often."

The buck stretched his back and arms, "I'd say it was a successful endeavor, William is growing up well and he's demonstrated that he is going to be a capable agent in the future, which I'm admittedly proud of."

Skye leaped off the bed and hugged him from behind, "Hearing all this makes me glad we're trying to build our relationship back up again."

Her scent comforted the buck, "I agree." he replied rubbing his head against her chin.

He grabbed his car keys and applied his sunglasses, "I'll be back as soon as possible. Feel free to relax while I'm gone."

The vixen jumped back on the bed and playfully rolled around, "Or I'll sleep on this plush bed..." she said yawning.

Jack gave an amused smile, "Or that too." he said before leaving the room.

* * *

The grittier industrial part of Zootopia just outside the downtown area was somewhat familiar to the fox, he had some contacts and previous business in the industrial district, but later preferred to stay away as the previously booming businesses that used to based their operations had since moved away or closed down. Now sadly for Nick the inhabitants were either downtrodden drug addicts, runaway teens, or criminals.

The main street just off the highway was darkened due to the elevated freeway blocking most of the sun, and some of the streetlights had long since lost their function. Some cars drove through the street, but despite it only being the middle of the day it was as dead as a suburban neighborhood in the middle of the night, without the safety of police or security guards nearby.

Nick spotted a nearby liquor store that he used to frequent many years ago when he visited the industrial district, it seemed to be the only establishment besides a few small stores and what he suspected to be a strip club, he entered it with the want for a drink feeling fairly dehydrated due to his earlier sickness.

The cashier, an elderly red panda behind steel bars merely gruffed seeing the fox and return to watching the small TV on the counter.

" _Okay, now I remember why I left in the first place..."_ he thought as he noted the run down interior of the store.

There was a beeping noise from the front of the store and upon inspection the fox noted the entrance of a male cheetah and bear, " _Couple of meatheads aren't they, let's not get involved."_

"Hurry up, I'm trying to get home to watch the game!" the bear complained to the cheetah.

"Shut up, I need to get a drink, dying of thirst over here." the cheetah groaned as he stood next to the coolers containing the drinks.

The bear smirked, "I doubt a beer is going to douse the kind of thirst you have for that girl you been stroking your dick to."

"Fuck you, don't think I won't slash your fat furry face!" the cheetah retorted.

Nick rolled his eyes, " _Now I'm glad I don't associate with these kind of people..."_ he said as was selecting through sodas in a different cooler.

"Whatever, we going to that meeting later or what?" the bear asked as he grabbed some bags of chips.

The cheetah cracked his neck, "Of fucking course, I'm trying to get some pussy over there, nothing like a girl who's willing to mate with this fine specimen to 'advance the predator way' or some dumb shit like that."

" _Great, another guy joining a dumb cause just to get laid. At least my profession is legit..."_ Nick woefully thought.

"You did tell me that you meet another cheetah who was willing to do nasty things for you." The bear chuckled as he went to pay the cashier.

"Fucked the glasses off of her, dumb bitch thought I'm going to be her boyfriend, she should've stayed with daddy."

" _Classy. Well at least I know the meeting is real."_

"Word on the street is there was some police out prowling the area lately." the bear informed the cheetah.

"Fuck that. The cops could suck my dick for all I care. They better not cut off the supply chain for my Roaring Sugar, that shit pops."

Nick frowned, " _Not in a million years. This drug is bigger than I thought, sounds like a major concern the ZPD needs to give attention to."_

The two left the store, leaving the fox to be alone along with the cashier.

The fox picked out a lemon-lime soda and some bug jerky to pay the cashier before leaving the store too.

" _Damn I miss Carrots, without her this place is flat out depressing to be in. I wonder where Finnick is right now..._ " he wondered as he walked down the sidewalk to where the supposed warehouse was.

He decided to give his partner another call, but after dialing her number it rang several times, before it went to her voicemail.

"Shit." he decided to text her instead.

" _I'll be waiting at the location where the meeting should be at. Let me know when you are around."_

He sent the message and started to go through his phone for various other tasks to kill the time while he began to munch on his snacks.

"Too bad I didn't bring my car here, I just had to walk here..." he muttered, the journey to the area from Vanessa's house wasn't a long one since the industrial district was adjacent to Downtown, he could even see the skyline towering over nearby, so even taking the bus wasn't an issue. But the lack of the freedom that came with a car felt restrictive for Nick.

Despite him being an officer of the law, he maintained a careful eye for other ZPD officers that are making their daily patrols here, a dingy looking fox in an area like this is sadly enough a red flag for police, and if they did ask him any questions he couldn't simply produce a badge as he didn't want to risk anyone finding out his true identity.

" _Why did I agreed to this in the first place? I guess Judy is either really convincing, or I'm one dumb fox."_

His phone began to ring, and quickly taking a look confirmed that it was Judy trying to contact him.

"Officer Wilde speaking." he sarcastically greeted.

" _It's me..."_ Judy sighed, " _Carrots."_

"Yes fluff, I'm well aware. You here now?" he asked looking around trying to spot the rabbit.

" _I am, I'm by a uh...taco truck? And a, I don't know what it is, it says 'Bunny's Delight'_." she described to the fox.

"Please don't go there, its a strip club of bunnies...male bunnies, gay bunnies." he warned Judy.

She gasped, " _Oh! I should go somewhere else then! I think I saw one pass by in just a speedo..."_

Nick grinned, "Oh boy, I heard those guys _love_ foxes, I think some of them have a thing for us."

" _Eww, Nick stop talking about them!"_

"Is my little bun afraid of some strapping bucks batting for the other side? I thought you were learning to accept that kind of lifestyle, how disappointing." he mockingly shamed.

" _I-It's not because I'm homophobic or anything! It's just their clothes, I can see their junk from here!"_

"I'm going to have to take a look at some point, just for reconnaissance."

Judy sighed, " _Nick, we're not here to gawk at some strippers. We're on an important mission."_

Nick chuckled, "Forgive me fluff, I'm trying not to imagine a bunch of bunnies grinding against each other, those glistening muscular-"

" _I'm hanging up now."_ she interrupted before hanging up.

The fox continued to laugh as he put away his phone, "I should bring Jack here, he'll be the talk of the town over there for sure." he mused as he went to meet up with his partner.

Luckily for him she wasn't far away, and after walking a few blocks down the road, he recognized the unmarked police vehicle and walked up to it.

Judy happily waved from inside, "Nick!" she shouted through the window.

The fox smirked, "Lovely day we're having today isn't it Carrots?"

"I'm glad you're safe! So you found out about where they are holding the meeting huh?"

He winked, "Yep, now comes the fun part of finding out where Hunter is, and simply to detain him."

Judy noticed the fox stealing a glance at the strip club, "Please tell me you aren't actually thinking of going there..."

"I've got a couple of hours to kill. I'm not spending them sitting in the alley like a homeless person. And I'm not going to spend it with you because I can't be spotted, besides I'm curious about this place anyways, not often you get to see such a place."

The doe was aware of the fox's anything goes approach towards his sexuality, but the fact that he was interested in a strip club of bunnies was certainly something.

She sighed, "Fine, I'll be here I guess."

He grinned, "Actually, I want you to come with me."

"What? I'm not going to spend my money at such a...place." she objected.

"I'm paying then. I just want to expand your horizons, it will make you a better cop. And besides, there are many of specie specific establishments like this. There's like two for foxes in Zootopia alone."

"How is this relevant to our case in any way?" Judy questioned the fox's motives.

He smirked, "It isn't. But I want to have some fun before I'm shoved back into an uncomfortable situation surrounded by idiots who follow a idiotic ideology. In a way, visiting a bunny strip club is a big fuck you to those predator supremacists."

The doe admitted that his reasoning was valid, if strange, but she still had some objections.

"I'm wearing my uniform if you haven't noticed. I don't feel comfortable at all being in there as a cop."

Nick tsked, "Hmm, I got it."

He took off his hoodie, revealing only a plain white tank top, "Wear this over your uniform."

Judy groaned, "Do I really have to?"

"Is that a yes?" the fox asked tilting his head.

"Fine. I'll do it, just because you said it'll make me a better officer." she relented.

"Excellent choice fluff, think of it as exploring more of Zootopia's fine institutions, getting to know more of its inhabitants." he said giving the hoodie to Judy through the window.

The hoodie reached down to her knees, so that only her dark blue pants showed.

"There. A pair of sunglasses and you could pass for a buck."

"Har har, let's just go." she said as she got out the window.

The two entered the establishment through the front after the fox paid for them both to enter.

"I didn't know they allow females to enter." Judy admitted to Nick as they entered the main room.

The fox grinned as he observed all the bucks of various body sizes and appearances walking around or performing on stage, "Oh yeah. This is _so_ worth the trouble, have fun fluff!" he said patting her back.

"Hey! Don't leave me here alone!" she said as the fox left for another part of the club.

" _It's like that nude club all over again."_

The doe was overwhelmed by the atmosphere, there were many patrons and entertainers inside the establishment itself, the music played by the DJ, a purple and pink dyed buck was of the electronic variety. She watched in disgust as she observed a cougar tossing money and panting happily as one of the entertainers winked at him and danced around the pole.

"I shouldn't be here, I need to go." she said.

"I assume you're here for the Power Bun section." the bartender called out to her.

"Oh, I'm not here for that, I was-"

The bartender pointed down the hall, "That's going to be a good place for you to visit." he explained smirking.

Judy rolled her eyes, "Alright, fine then." she said going to the area he pointed out.

The hallway led down to some empty rooms and others covered by a curtain, "Uh..."

"Hello there, Miss Hopps." a deep voice said from behind her.

"Eep! Hey, don't scare me...holy rabbit's foot." she gasped.

The white bunny was huge, Judy's ears at full attention barely reached his nose, much larger than any bunny she had ever met or seen. She guessed that he was a different species of rabbit altogether.

"How did you know my name?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

He smiled, "A certain fox had a special request for you, you can call me Atlas."

She gulped, "L-Look, I'm not here for anything alright, my dumb friend brought me here for his own entertainment okay?"

The buck shrugged, "He paid good money for you, sure you want to throw it down the drain?"

" _Damn, it would be really rude of me to spur him like that, I really hope my parents don't find out."_

She sighed, "Okay, I'll do the stupid thing he asked for. But no funny business!"

Atlas chuckled, "Alright, please sit on that couch."

The doe did as he instructed and sat down on the quite plush purple couch, Atlas followed in and closed the curtain, "I feel that this is your first time in this sort of club?" he asked as he stood in front of her.

"I guess. I'm not the type to visit these kind of places honestly." she admitted sheepishly.

" _Definitely pushing my horizons, not in the way I wanted though..."_

Atlas let out a deep laugh, "It's always the farming types that end up here."

"How did you know that?" she asked now feeling quite exposed.

"Your demeanor reveals everything, I can tell how tense you are, relax, no one is here to judge. Just to have a good time." he said trying to assuage the doe's fears.

"I thought all the rabbits here were gay though."

Atlas smirked, "Most are, some are willing to attend to both sides if the money's right. Now then, let's get started."

Judy's eyes popped open in awe as the buck removed his shirt, "O-Oh wow, I didn't know bucks could even get that _big_." she commented on his muscular physique.

"I'm part of the specie of rabbits that are the biggest in the world. My parents weren't from Zootopia, but from Flanders." he explained.

"Really? You must do a _lot_ of farm work or something to be that huge."

Atlas flexed his arms, "Lots of protein and lifting, some running too. These are a little constricting aren't they?" he said pointing out the tight pants.

The doe couldn't resist staring at the bulge in his pants, and instantly the doe's uncertainty in being here began to disappear.

"Lost for words? Don't be, I'm hardly the biggest male here, Frank has the honors, little guy could knock out _bears._ " he chuckled as he pulled down his pants.

"A-Are you going to show off your..." she sputtered this staring at the buck's package, she recalled when Jack was wearing sweatpants that he had a similar outline in his pants as well.

"Only at your command, Ms. Hopps." he told the doe slightly swaying his hips.

Judy had little knowledge about strip clubs besides the stories her siblings and friends told her, she assumed they were all pole dancers that wore skimpy underwear, not private shows that included nudity.

The doe grasped at the couch and bit her lip as only his blue briefs covered his parts, "I-I...please do." she said giving in to her inner desire.

Atlas nodded, "As you wish."

He slowly and tantalizingly shimmied down his briefs, and Judy bit harder into her lip as she observed his erecting member in her sight.

" _Oh sweet merciful carrot, he's big."_

It wasn't a doubt that Judy was attracted to bucks, she knew from the onset of puberty that she would happily mate with one if he happened to match her preferences, for Atlas, everything about him was so big she was afraid that she couldn't even handle the buck for any significant amount of time.

The buck sat down next to her and spread his legs wide open to let his package fully be displayed, "As part of this request Mr. Wilde had asked for a second buck to be part of our routine." he told the doe as he began to stroke his himself.

Judy couldn't help but stare at his fully erect member laying flat on his toned stomach, "Uh-huh..."

Atlas looked up as the curtain opened, "And here he is."

Judy turned also to the curtain where a much smaller buck giggled and waved, "Hi, I'm Eris, I'm here for a Judy Hopps?"

Eris was roughly the same size as Judy, the light brown bunny had bright blonde fur on the top of his head and a few streaks of varying colors throughout his body. Unlike Atlas who arrived fully clothes, Eris was already down to just a pink speedo.

"Hi Atlas~ I see you already introduced yourself to our guest." he said happily smiling.

Atlas nodded, "Yeah, now the act can really begin, so bring that ass over here!"

Eris grinned, "Yes sir!"

Judy watched in shock as the smaller buck jumped onto the larger buck and instantly began to vigorously press his lips onto his.

" _This is crazy! I'm watching these two guys going at it! And it's...hot?"_

 _"_ Is this what a strip club is like really? This seems a lot more...explicit." Judy said.

The doe instantly felt conflicted, sitting there watching two bucks grinding against each other sent a primal sensation in her mind; there was a small, but growing need to be sandwiched in between them to join in the fun.

"I see you're already out in the open, aren't ya stud?" Eris chuckled feeling Atlas' member throb against his bare stomach.

"Seeing two attractive bunnies in one room tends to do that Eris." the larger buck replied smiling.

"Aw, you're a big sweetheart don't you know that? Gives me the butterflies!" The smaller buck moaned out as Atlas lowered his paw down from his back to his speedo.

Judy was amazed, " _How can he have such a cute butt?"_ she wondered as the speedo tightly hugged his body.

Eris snickered as he observed the doe longingly staring at them both, "Atlas it seems our guest here wants to join in on the fun." he teasingly sang out.

The two males noticed the doe rubbing her legs uneasily, a sign that she found herself completely enthralled by the show.

Judy snapped out of stupor, "I-I didn't mean to bother you guys like that!"

Atlas chuckled as he clutched the smaller buck's bottom, " We can't offer to directly 'service' you as we aren't really a brothel though sometimes honestly it can feel damn close to being one, but we can with each other."

"W-What? Can you really?"

Eris winked, "Zootopia's pretty lax on how we can run things here, as long as we follow the guidelines. Can't really think of any other cities that allow that, maybe that's why so many people come here eh?"

Atlas slipped off Eris' speedo, "I'm pretty sure how you see this going."

" _Are they really going to procreate with each other? I can't believe I'm actually going to watch them, but I should!"_

Judy gulped but nodded enthusiastically, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but please!"

" _I wonder if Nick's enjoying himself..."_

 _ **I did tell you before that this story has a hard M rating...I wasn't kidding folks. Isn't it fun to twist up the world of Zootopia?**_


	20. Chapter 20

_**Hooray for Chapter 20! Thanks for the support that you guys have given me this past few weeks, and I hope for more in the future. :)**_

"And here we are..." Jack muttered to himself as he pulled up to the parking lot entrance.

The ZBI headquarters occupied one of the tallest buildings in Zootopia, despite having no logo to denote the inhabitants of the building itself, most Zootopians were familiar with this fact.

The building's location itself housed also the old ZBI headquarters, when the agency itself used to be part of the ZPD's jurisdiction, but as the scope of the agency expanded beyond specialized detective work the government decided to make it an independent organization apart of the ZPD, and along with it demolished the old building to create the skyscraper today.

Jack himself wasn't a fan of most of the agency's departments being housed in a singular building, but he assumed that they were many security measures in place, some of which he knew himself, to keep the people working inside safe from outside interference.

"Hello Matt, I see you're assigned traffic duty today." the buck casually greeted the security guard at the entrance.

The squirrel chuckled, "Yep, it's been pretty quiet today actually, wonder why."

Jack shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps it's a state secret." he joked.

Matt tapped the button to allow entry of the rabbit's car, "Maybe, ask too many questions and disappear huh?"

"I assume so, watch your tongue then before they make me cut it off." he sarcastically warned Matt as he drove off.

After finding a good spot to park the vehicle Jack collected his work bag and strolled to the sky-bridge connecting the building with the parking structure itself.

Once inside, Jack looked through his phone for any work emails that required his attention, one in particular that caught his attention was from Mr. Carter himself.

" _Hello Agent Savage. We would like to confer with each other at my office as soon as possible to discuss what information you have collected from Skye. Also, I would like to discuss your son's future in the agency."_

Jack sighed, "Sounds like a bit of a faff..."

The buck took a elevator up a few floors to where his office was located, there he walked down a corridor surrounded by other agents in their own office rooms either typing away at their computers or talking on the phone.

His office's layout wasn't any different than the other agents, it was a fairly large office room for one worker which gave himself plenty of space to store files and personal items throughout the space. On his desk laid a picture frame containing a picture of him and William at a carnival when he was still a kitten, there were various pictures pinned onto the pinboard on his wall as well.

After placing his bag on the floor he headed straight for the elevator to go further up the building to Mr. Carter's office.

Inside the elevator a female mongoose smiled at the rabbit, "Hey Jack."

Jack nodded at her, "Afternoon Sally, I hope the day is treating you well."

"Ugh, Eric's wife just had a fawn last night, so he's going to be gone for the whole month to help take care of his child. Which means I have to do all the work in the meanwhile." she complained to the buck.

"I'm sorry, it must be a real bother." he said attempting to emphasize with his coworker.

The mongoose shrugged, "Eh. I guess I could pick up the slack for my buddy while he's enjoying the 'gift' of fatherhood."

The elevator dinged at the floor he intended to visit, "I hope you do well on your work." Jack told Sally.

"You too, thanks." she said to him before the doors closed.

On this floor, there were less, larger offices; a defining feature of the hierarchy that dominated the ZBI. Even at his fairly senior position, he could feel himself already being put in his place, a throwback to his youth.

Jack was reminded of future career opportunities every time he visited the upper levels of the building, it was a motivating factor to be sure. The buck even now wanted to make sure he was on a steady path to success, not only for him but for his family.

He knocked on the door, "May I come in Mr. Carter?"

"Yes Agent Savage, please do!" Mr. Carter yelled through the door.

Jack was familiar already with the office room itself, opulently appointed with plush leather armchairs and old fashioned wood furniture; it reminded Jack more of a English royalty castle than a modern office.

"Ah Jack! It is a pleasure to see you again!" the chair spun around to reveal a mouse in a gray suit.

"I'm pleased to be here again, old friend." the buck replied shaking the mouse's paw.

"Damn fine day to meet eh?" he said looking out to the rainy sky.

"I suppose. Now, you summoned me..."

The mouse nodded, "Yes, concerning Skye, after your reports we decided we need to switch focus onto the new threat that you've described to us earlier."

Jack nodded, "Hunter. A former agent of the ZBI, now a rogue operative who's mission is to eliminate me." he stated.

Mr. Carter groaned, "Hunter...real name?"

"Not a clue, Skye knows, we should give her a call then?"

The mouse shook his head and took a glance through the window into the hallway, "Not a wise course for now, we shall keep this between us for the time being."

"No one else knows about Hunter?" Jack questioned surprised.

"Hunter's been a hassle for the agency to keep track of since he left; we've assumed that as long as he didn't cause any trouble, we could let him 'retire' peacefully. We were wrong, dead wrong." Mr. Carter said shaking his head.

"So I've heard. Skye's told me Hunter has been acting for lack of a better term, quite out of line."

Mr. Carter and Jack, both prey that pushed upwards in a predator dominated organization, reached an understanding of support in case things went south for either of them.

"It's been what, nearly 10 years now since we've first met? That fierce determination in your eyes never faded, and that's why I believe you're a good candidate to be head of the intelligence department soon."

The buck gulped containing his excitement as best as he could, but even with his refined and professional demeanor, his tail was shaking.

"Sir, it would be an honor to be part of this incredible opportunity that you presented." the buck thanked as composed as he could manage.

The mouse chuckled, "Don't be too hard on yourself Jack, I'm aware of your special capabilities you demonstrated all these years. And not to mention your son as well."

"Yes, William."

Mr. Carter grinned, "I remember when you first shown him to me, cutest little kitten I've had the pleasure of meeting."

Jack smiled nervously remembering when they first met, "He seemed quite surprised by you when he actually saw who was running the show."

"Little guy couldn't help it, I don't blame him, a mouse with such a high ranking title? At least he was respectful." he commented on the kitten's behavior.

The mouse commanded respect despite his diminutive stature, most prey employees including Jack looked up to him as inspiration that Zootopia was indeed upholding its promise to keep equality between the two societies. But now more than ever, did their abilities were going to be put to the test.

"I trust that he's been following orders well from you?" Mr. Carter asked as he was curious about the condition of Jack's son.

The buck smiled, "My doubts were vanquished as soon as he was on the field, he certainly has the energy to be able to keep up with me. And he isn't afraid to join in confrontations with others, he isn't a just a vulnerable kitten anymore that much is certain."

"That's a relief, I was afraid that he was going too young to properly handle the job, and that little condition he had before. But with your support I'm certain he'll grow to be a fine agent."

Jack frowned, "He won't be guaranteed as long as Hunter remains a threat to our safety."

"I know." the mouse affirmed about sitting on his desk.

Mr. Carter inspected his watch, "Has the ZPD have been of any help to you?"

"As much as I hoped for. In fact, I believe the officers assisting are currently on the lookout inside a predator supremacist organization, one called the Westwood Pathfinders."

The mouse nodded understanding their mission, "Alright, I trust they will find something that will bring Hunter to justice."

"Is that all you call me in for then?" Jack asked next.

"Well, I do have a question for you, just a curiosity."

"What?"

The mouse seemed to mused over the question for some time, leaving the buck to only speculate what it could be.

"Do you have a death wish?" he asked the buck.

Jack frowned, "Excuse me?"

"I'm not a dumb mouse Jack, I didn't make it so far without picking up on subtleties."

"Enlighten me then, if you think you're clever." Jack dared smirking.

"It's between you and your son. You spoke less and less of him lately, like you were trying to acknowledge him during your job."

"And what does that have to do with a death wish?"

The mouse sighed, "Let's see...you've killed his parents, that much is certain. But you chose to raise him as your own child despite this, and now you're allowing him to become an agent of the ZBI, where he'll have full access to files that will shed light on what truly happened."

"That is correct, continue on..." Jack confirmed still smiling.

"If he's got a modicum of gut feeling in him, he'll look for answers as soon as possible."

The buck rolled his eyes, "He'll realize the truth and he'll seek revenge. That's what I thought earlier too, but then I remembered something. He's moved on."

"Oh? What makes you think that?"

"He doesn't mention his parents in mourning anymore, when he talks about them he's not crying or spouting anger."

"You certain he's fully come to terms with his parent's death."

"If not. Well I'll be his first kill as an agent." Jack shrugged as though it was no big deal.

Mr. Carter thought on it, "Okay then, I'll let your son decide what he'll do in the future. For now, we'll finish this task first. Sorry for bringing this subject up."

"Apology accepted and let's not bring it up again."

The mouse solemnly smiled, "Remember the mission we took together in Moscow?"

Jack chuckled, "How could I forget? Fighting arctic bears inside the prime minister's mansion, cutting power supply to an entire block of apartments, that Russian weasel girl I had the pleasure of getting to know personally..."

"This was also the last mission before I retired from being on the field."

The buck nodded, "Yeah. Getting up there in the years eh?"

Mr. Carter groaned, "Don't remind me, my left foot still feels a little numb from falling a story down to the snow."

"We had some good times otherwise." Jack reminded the mouse crossing his legs.

"I agree, but the thing I wanted to convey was that at a certain point we all need to end our rambunctious adventures and settle down."

"You wanted to be with your children, I know."

Mr. Carter laughed, "Those little buggers have been a full-time job all in its self. But that's not what I meant."

"Tell me then, what do you actually mean to tell me?"

"For _you.._." he emphasized, "I suspect a lady has entered your life. A certain vixen."

Jack swore under his breath, "About that..."

"Don't worry, you aren't violating any sanctions or rules concerning former agents. If it were up to me I would even welcome back Skye into the agency, but you can venture a guess into why I can't."

"I understand, no hard feelings."

The mouse smiled, "Good. I was quite worried when I looked into the information of the officers from the ZPD assisting you in this mission, and in those files was a certain doe named Judy Hopps."

The buck frowned, "I don't like where this is going."

"You already know what I was going to say? Oh dear, am I that transparent?" The mouse sarcastically asked.

"I'm not going to try to court Officer Hopps." he stated.

Jack was getting rather annoyed with the fact that others believe him and Judy were destined to become mates. As far as he was concerned, Judy was a partner in the case, maybe even a friend, but not a potential lover.

"Given your reputation for being rather smitten with attractive ladies I was under the impression you would attempt to at least get 'personal' with her."

"Damn it, I'm not _,_ I repeat, _not_ attracted to Judy Hopps!" he growled adamantly.

"You're lying Jack, you said this before with Skye back when you two worked together." the mouse countered.

"And how in the world are you going to dispute my statement?" the buck demanded pounding his fist on the table.

The mouse grinned, "Two things, one; you're blushing. Two; you gave the exact same reaction when I asked the same question about Skye."

"I'm not into other rabbits! I've told you this before!" Jack shouted out.

The mouse sat on the table unfazed by the much larger buck's outburst, "You really are going to deny it? Fine, let that eat the back of your mind while you continue on this case, as long as she works by you, it'll make it more difficult when the reality hits you."

The buck couldn't even begin to entertain the idea that he was attracted to both Skye and Judy; but as much as he abhorred the idea itself, it still held some weight.

"Okay, in theory, let's say I was smitten with Skye _and_ Officer Hopps. What I ought to do then? Invite them into my bed for some kind of threesome? Abandon them?" he asked the mouse.

"Normally I would say it would be wise to choose Officer Hopps, since she's also a rabbit and can prove to be a fruitful relationship later in life." Mr. Carter suggested.

"The excuse you can come up with is that I could sire bunnies with her? That's a baseless excuse to make, I do not wish for now to have any children besides just William." he scoffed.

"Can you then say once and for all that you won't consider _any_ interaction with Officer Hopps after the mission?"

Jack gritted his teeth and looked away, "I curse you strongly for even making me consider something so preposterous."

Mr. Carter sighed, "If that's the way you want to approach it, so be it. I only warn you about overthinking the issue while you're working with her."

The buck looked back at the mouse with a stern face, "I'll do just that, Sir."

* * *

" _It's like I took sex ed all over again."_ Judy thought after her 'show' with Atlas and Eris ended.

The doe was both mesmerized and disbelief after seeing Eris being able to accommodate Atlas' size, it put her to utter shame seeing a rabbit, especially a male being used so willing like that, the stereotype of rabbits being promiscuous reared its ugly head in her mind.

Eris laid down on his stomach smiling happily with no hint of pain on his face, "Whew...that was a good pounding, wasn't it?" he winked at the doe.

Atlas panted a little as he put his clothing back on, "I doubt our guest is going to forget this intimate contact for a while."

"I'm going to go now if you don't mind." Judy said.

Eris giggled, "Alright sweetie, I hope you enjoyed our performance!"

The doe awkwardly smiled, "Y-Yeah. Thanks."

"Come again soon!" he said waving bye.

Judy left the room still processing everything that had happened in the establishment since she entered it with Nick earlier.

"Nick!" she yelled out seeing the fox down near the platform.

He waved at her, "Carrots! I take it you are having a good time?"

"Sure. Can we go now?" she pleaded trying to leave.

"Aw, at least let me see this little guy show his stuff!"

"Now Nick."

The fox scoffed, "Fine, party pooper."

The two left the main stage and headed for the exit.

"Hope you'll come back soon!" an attendant.

Nick noticed the blue bunny's body being only covered by an apron and he grinned, "Oh I'll come back, for _you."_ he teased him licking his lips. The blue buck chuckled and hide his face with his clipboard.

" _Gross..."_ Judy only thought after the fox's lecherous display.

Nick wrapped his arm around the doe, "Tell me fluff, how much did you learn about the male form?"

"I'm not a virgin Nick, I know what a dick looks like." Judy sneered.

"I didn't ask about _you_ sleeping with other guys, I meant other guys sleeping with other guys."

The doe sighed, "I don't know, it felt like I was watching porn in a public area. Except it was gay porn."

"I for one believe now that rabbits may be the best sex animals in the world."

Judy tapped her foot rapidly, "What was that? Care to repeat your claim?"

"If that place didn't prove it to you. I'm happy to provide some other form of evidence for my claim."

Judy's nose twitched, "And what is that?"

"It's called the internet." he said pulling out his phone.

"What? Porn? There's porn for _everyone_ , dumb nuts!" she countered.

"Do you read any articles online? According to Mammal Magazine, and I quote, 'For twelve years running, rabbits have been consistently rated to be the best species to copulate with."

Judy instead of expressing further outrage, was strangely for her interested, "Really? Twelve?"

The fox nodded, "The same poll rates foxes at a dismal fifteenth. I suspect it's because males bite their partner every time we 'finish'..."

"Well I mean, I guess it's not unreasonable considering what I just saw earlier with those two bucks."

Nick nodded, "Exactly. Now if only we could get an opinion from Jack himself."

"I don't think he's going to be so willing to give one." Judy told Nick.

"Hmm, sometimes tells me otherwise."

For another hour the two continued to either bicker over certain topics or simply chat while Nick waited for the meeting to start.

Since Judy and Nick couldn't be inside a police cruiser the two simply sat down in an alleyway across the street.

"You know, you seem a lot less skittish talking about sex." Nick admitted after their lengthy conversations.

The doe shrugged, "I guess Zootopia has opened my eyes about how love could be 'free'."

"You said you weren't a virgin? Who was your first time?" Nick asked now curious about the seemingly puritan doe's sex life.

Judy blushed, "Heh, um...okay, I slept with this guy named Randall. He was really cute, and I thought at the time when he asked me, sure why not? He was pretty gentle and it was actually pretty enjoyable."

Nick smiled, "That's good. Glad to hear your first time was pleasurable for the both of you. A bunny right?"

She nodded, "And you?"

The fox sighed, "Wow, okay, I was 13..."

Judy gasped, "That's so young though!"

Nick nodded, "I lost my virginity to a vixen who was a few years older than me. This happened right after I ran away from my mom's house. She said she would take care of me, as long as I was her 'toy'."

The doe shuddered, "That sounds gross."

"Yeah, I was 13 though, and she was a hot girl with big tits. Anyways she was my so called 'girlfriend' for two months, two months of continuous bonking on a ratty couch in a abandoned house not too far from here actually."

"That's...I don't know what to say."

Nick chuckled, "I had fun, not many 13 year olds can claim to have regular sex with an older girl."

Judy shook her head, "There's a good reason why that isn't the case."

"Yeah, I guess I was just a horny teen with issues, perfect kind of person to take advantage of."

"Was the rest of your childhood like this?"

Nick smirked, "It got better as I got older. I had girlfriends, and a boyfriend."

Her ears pointed straight up in surprise, "A boyfriend? Really?"

The fox nodded, "Swallowed me whole, not many could do that."

"Ew...don't say that."

Nick ignored her request, "Anyways, I think his name was...Cody? Collin? Something like that, an arctic fox. He's the only guy I regularly slept with, after that I never really chased after other males."

"You only go for girls now?"

"Yep. Less drama funnily enough."

Judy sighed, "I'm guessing you like rabbits huh?"

Nick grinned, "Me being at a bunny strip club wasn't clue enough for you?"

"Should've figured."

The fox checked his watch, "It's almost time. I'll be going now."

Judy grabbed his arm, "Wait. Before you go."

She reached up to his face and connected their lips together.

Nick was shocked by another display of affection by the doe, the second today, but he gladly accepted it.

The doe herself wanted Nick to know how much she cared about him, so she made sure to keep them together for a good moment before she let go.

Nick sat there taking in her act of affection, "Judy..."

The doe sighed, "That was for good luck, shouldn't you get going, Rick?"

The fox smiled and nodded, "I suppose so."

Judy gave him her carrot pen, "I'm honestly a little scared for you, but I can't do anything about it. Please, stay out of trouble."

"I promise. But in the off chance I do run into something, you'll be there right?"

The doe winked and held a thumbs up, "Of course, I'll be there before you can shout my name."


	21. Chapter 21

*Flashback*

"You're really thinking of joining the ZBI?" Jack's father asked in disbelief.

Jack nodded, "I figured why not? Ain't shit to do here in this broken home anyways."

His father growled, "Talking shit in me house? I outta get me switch and beat that tough talk out of yer fat head!"

"What else am I going to do? Go with me mates down to the square and drink whilst chasing birds? I want to live a better life!"

"You do what you want to do lad, but don't come crying back in me house when me wee bunny couldn't handle any real responsibility!"

Jack grinned, "You'll see Dad, I'll be the greatest agent you've ever seen! And I'll bring glory to the Savage name, for you, me mum, and me five siblings!"

His father sighed, "You're the oldest of the litter...and the runt, you better not make an ass of yerself or else you're not welcome back in this hutch!"

"Watch Dad, Jack Savage will soon be a name known across the world!"

*End of flashback*

After holding a meeting with another supervisor on the same floor and taking care of some documents in his office, the buck was able to call it a day after being inside the building for nearly four hours, to him it was an accomplishment.

Due to the short work day Jack wasn't feeling any fatigue and figured he could go home and relax on the couch to watch some TV with Skye, maybe play a board game with the rest of them in the house.

In the parking lot Jack approached his car carrying the key fob when there was a whistle from down the building.

" _Whoo-hoo, Agent Savage..."_ a male voice spoke out.

The buck frowned and continued to approach his car, "Probably nothing...keep walking." he thought.

" _Pikey little twat aren't ya?"_

His ears dropped, "I know that voice."

" _Aw, seems I caught the bunny's attention! Ain't ya aware of your surroundings?"_

The buck hid behind his car, "I'll take a guess, Agent Hutchinson?"

"Bingo, it's been a while Agent Savage." the wombat greeted as he entered Jack's view.

Jack remained calm, though he was still very cautious about what could happen next, "A long while. What is it you want?" he questioned from behind his car.

"Don't shoot the messenger Savage, I'm here to deliver a warning."

The buck chuckled, "This is ZBI headquarters Hutchinson, it'll be quite idiotic to assume you could waltz in here and expect no consequences." he bluffed, trying to get the wombat off his tail.

"Don't care, Hunter said to and I quote, ' _I'm getting closer to you and your stupid pathetic cat you call a son.'"_ Hutchinson recited.

Jack sighed, "Alright, tell him that he could fuck off. Deliver that message to him personally alright?"

"Will do Savage, I'm sure he'll appreciate it. Oh and by the way, p.s.; the fox has entered the coop." he said before running off.

The buck didn't have time to run after Hutchinson, also a former agent of the ZBI.

" _I see you've become one of Hunter's cronies, just like Skye. What the fuck's going on_?"

Jack didn't like how Hunter knew where he was at, it fed to a growing paranoid feeling that was deep within his gut.

The ride home was fraught with worry and thinking within himself, suddenly it became serious within Jack's mind. He needed to find Hunter, fast.

* * *

Nick arrived at the preordained location that the meeting was supposed to be held, despite the fox's reputation for being rather lenient about attending events on time; he decided it would better to come early to get a head start into looking for any useful information.

There were not many others in the area itself, which again he suspected was because he was early. Various species were present, of course all predator considering the circumstances, some were standing in a group conversation, others were smoking or sitting down on their phones.

" _Deader than a desert out here. Even if they are predator supremacists I expected something more..."_ Nick thought as he strolled casually through the parking lot adjacent the building.

He felt a few raindrops on his fur, causing him to grimace, "Nice, just what I needed." he muttered, unsure if the rain would cause any problems with the fur dye that he had applied earlier.

Of course he couldn't call Judy because he couldn't risk blowing his cover, after they split ways the doe didn't disclose what she was planning to hide out in, leaving the fox in the dark into where she could be.

"Look, a fox." Nick heard one of the patrons mentioning his presence.

"Oh yeah, that's weird, foxes aren't normally known to hold such views." another said to her friend.

The comments made the fox feel like he stuck out in the crowd, instinctively he turned away from the other people in the area and sat down in a corner away from the others.

" _It's true that foxes aren't really the type of mammal to think like that."_

Nick and other foxes for that matter believed that they were among the most discriminated species within Zootopia itself, there was plenty of reason for someone like Nick, who dealt with abject poverty for a good chunk of his life and was time and time again given negative responses by especially the prey population; one would think that he was a prime target to be converted into the exalts of predator supremacy.

But despite this Nick was vehemently opposed to the ideology, he saw in his own eyes how such a destructive way of thinking not only ruined the lives of prey, but the same predators that espoused these values as well. It wasn't in him to suddenly see people like Judy as the enemy rather than a friend, the thought itself drove him away from even looking deeper into his own misgivings about society.

"Hey, you're Rick right?"

The fox turned to the source of the voice, "Yeah, and you are?"

The dingo gave a friendly smile, "I'm Carl."

"Aren't you a little too young to be joining this kind of group." Nick asked raising his eyebrow in suspicion.

Carl chuckled a little nervously, "Being in high school doesn't mean I can't broaden my horizons."

The fox frowned, "High School? I think you are better off studying than rubbing shoulders with uh...these fine people." he said struggling to utter out the last words.

"Really? The other guys at my school said it was fine though."

" _So it's spreading down to kids huh? This is getting real bad."_

Nick sighed, "Listen kid, how old are you?"

"15."

The fox rolled his eyes, "Not even old enough to drive, or vote, or any adult things really. I sincerely believe you're way too young for this, trust me."

"You sure? Honestly I came here because my older brother came here also."

"Tell your older brother you have better things to do, I assume you have friends right?"

The dingo nodded, "Yeah?"

"Then go hang out with them, and stay away from people like us. At least wait a couple more years, if you still decide you want to be here, then be my guest. I'm just telling you to enjoy the rest of your childhood before you decide to join these kind of clubs alright?"

Carl sighed, "Alright, I'll think about it."

Nick smiled, "Good. Now go home, do your homework, play video games or whatever kids like you do nowadays, and enjoy life."

"Uh, thanks, I guess..." Carl said before leaving the fox alone.

Nick chuckled a little, "Kids, they think they know everything. He reminded me of Jack's son a little."

He then remembered the cat's rather averse attitude towards foxes, " _It's a good thing William didn't need to come here, they would've not taken well with his upbringing."_

It got a little darker outside as evening approach and the crowd surrounding the warehouse began to increase in size.

 _"Wow, Vanessa wasn't kidding that their was going to be a crowd, thank my lucky stars I decided to change my appearance up..._ "

"Alright everyone, single file in front of the door! No pushing or biting!" a white tiger yelled out to the crowd.

" _And so it begins."_ he said with a deep breath.

As Nick arrived early he was able to snag a spot in line pretty close to the door itself so the waiting period was only about a minute.

"Name?" the tiger asked.

"Rick Steelport."

"Age?"

"33..." Nick answered truthfully.

"Here's your flyer. Take a seat inside and enjoy."

The fox grabbed the piece of paper and nodded, "Thanks."

Inside the warehouse was surprisingly well-organized, there were many chairs in neat rows, there was a makeshift stage with lights, and tables with various foods.

"Well, someone's definitely funding this place." he whistled.

He took a small tour around the interior of the building before taking a chair roughly in the middle in order to get a decent view of the stage.

"Hey Rick!"

Nick turned to see Vanessa and Ben waving at him, which he responded with a wave back, "What's up?"

The two sat down next to him, "The drive here sucked, traffic as usual, but beside that we're doing good. What about you?"

He shrugged, "Eh, so-so."

Ben grinned, "You'll feel better once the meeting gets started! They give pretty good speeches here so it gets you pretty pumped up."

Nick resisted groaning, "Great, I can't wait..."

Vanessa chuckled, "What's wrong Rick? You seem down, do you miss the Roaring Sugar already?"

"As if, I'm swearing off that shit, it was horrible." he said shuddering.

"You damn near overdosed, but you're alive! Next time half the dosage should do the trick, you just needed to measure it properly." Vanessa explained.

Nick looked forward, "I'll keep that in mind."

The warehouse quickly filled up to near capacity, and almost every chair was filled by chatty predators, Nick guessed that a hundred or so were attending the event, not a insignificant number.

" _Quite a few of Zootopia's finest minds in here."_ he observed with sarcasm.

The first speaker arrived a few minutes after the front door closed, "Good evening fellow virtuous citizens of Zootopia, our agenda we hope will really get your paws steaming with the energy because we've got some fine people who would like to share their own ideas into how we can improve our quality of life, and overthrow the grip that the prey have over our lives!"

His statement was met with a resounding roar from the crowd, except for Nick who sat down in silence trying not to scoff in plain sight the ridiculousness of the situation itself.

The first speaker was at least for Nick quite boring, as he seemed to emphasized the advantages of being a predator in biological terms, while pointing out how terrible it was that undeserving prey was running the shots now as opposed to when predators were the dominant force.

The second speaker was just plain insane, claiming that predators should return to their roots by burning down the entire city and constructing an enclave exclusively for them to live in, while the prey would be the food supply itself.

As each guest delivered their speech and answered questions given by various members within the crowd, Nick found himself becoming more exhausted and even bored from all the rhetoric, even if he wasn't a believer in the ideology these speaking points were well known to the fox himself, and some he felt even Judy would've known herself.

"And for our final speaker, he's been such an integral part in funding and developing our group the past few years, he deserves a special around of applause. Please give it up for Steve "Hunter" Bernard!"

" _Here we go, let's see the son of a bitch."_

Hunter arrived from behind the curtain, he was a light brown ferret with a stripe across his muzzle, and wearing a dark blue suit that gave an impression of maybe being a banker, or someone who worked in financial services.

"Thank you Victor, good evening to all of you, I trust your day has treated you well so far?" he said in the same accent as Jack.

" _Oh ho, another pompous asshole, I can't wait to rip his ass a new one when I get a hold of him."_

The ferret cleared his throat and began to read from his piece of paper, "I'm pleased to be part of our fourth mass meeting as the Westwood Pathfinders. Ever since I joined the organization two years ago we have greatly expanded operations, now we have branches sprouting throughout Zootopia and other nearby cities. Our legal outreach team has had great success in introducing policies to City Hall that would benefit the predator population, and pending approval, discrimination against predator candidates in government in favor of prey will be rescinded in the coming months."

" _Wordy little asshole. What did prey ever do to you?"_

Nick was aware of the fact that if the law that gave affirmative action towards prey were to be repealed, people like Judy would have a much harder time being able to acquire careers that historically discouraged them from trying to join. Even with the anti-discrimination law in effect, Nick noted he had a easier time being accepted by the police force concerning tasks than Judy did, despite them going through the same rigorous training program before they became full fledged officers of the law.

Hunter sighed, "I understand the worries that you as an audience displayed and discussed with me and the other leaders of the group, you're afraid that Zootopia will soon be completely unrecognizable especially to the older members, the old Zootopia where the prey knew their place!"

Another resounding cheer, with Nick frowning at Hunter thinking of a way to be able to capture him.

" _Let's see...I didn't see any security guards with him. I think Judy and I can take him down pretty easily if he can get him to be alone."_

"So, I don't know about you, but there has been a rash of entries into our government forces, and those people are rabbits." he spoke next.

The crowd devolved into jeers and boos, "Get those stinking breeders out of our lives!" one yelled out.

"Yes, it seems they spilled over from their overstuffed farming towns and have begun infesting our great city. Thousands arrive every year and threatened to accelerate the degeneration of our city's institutions!"

On the curtain he projected an image of Judy, causing Nick to gulp, " _She's_ the face of the ZPD now, Zootopia's finest is now a puny little bunny."

The boos grew louder and the ferret began to smile, "Not just the ZPD, but the ZBI as well."

The next picture was Jack in his official photo, "They represent the future if we take no action now. A future where rabbits so outnumber all the rest of the population of Zootopia combined that they will literally drown us in a sea of lapin degeneracy!"

Nick found himself growling a little and controlled himself, " _Looks_ _like a predator supremacist, talks like one, acts like one, is one."_

If there was any doubt into what Hunter's beliefs were, it was shown here in full-force.

"So I ask you, beseech you, take to the streets, speak of the good word that predators are coming back to their rightful place. Prey have no true place within society that doesn't involve being under us completely! Refuse any discourse that would allow an advantage, bare your teeth, show your claws, let yourself be known that we are back, and madder than ever!" he bellowed out.

He stepped off the stage as the energetic crowd chatted with each other loudly, the fox kept an eye on the ferret that was conversing with the other speakers.

"That was amazing, dude really knows how to get his message across huh Rick?" Vanessa asked the fox.

"I'll give him that. Do you anything about him?" Nick asked still looking at Hunter.

The tigress shrugged, "All I know is that he's British. And that's really it, oh, and he used to work for the ZBI himself years ago."

"I'm going to go talk to him." he said standing up.

The fox swiftly made his through the crowd, and made his way to the ferret with determination.

"Mr. Bernard, may I have a word with you?" Nick called out to him.

The ferret turned to Nick and smiled, "Ah, you must be Rick Steelport! Pleasure to make your acquaintance, is there something you want to discuss with me?"

Nick was suspicious, "How did you know my name?"

"Vanessa informed me of your presence, I must say it is quite unusual for a fox to join our movement, pleasantly of course." The ferret nodded.

"Yeah, so anyways, you the one funding this joint?" Nick asked crossing his arms.

"Partially. I discovered the group while it was admittedly an upstart little get to known each other kind of people. Now they are growing at quite a pace, I'm interested to see how they continue to expand in the future."

" _Oh no you don't you piece of shit..."_

The fox grinned, "I'm also interested in how you plan to help them grow. Maybe we can talk in private?" he suggested.

Hunter shrugged, "I see no reason to object, you have a place in mind?"

Nick thought fast, "Hmm, just around the back of the warehouse?"

"Alright."

The two left through the back door of the warehouse, where the fox had the ferret all alone.

"Now, what was it you wanted to discuss?" Hunter asked leaning against the wall.

"Simple. You're under arrest." Nick stated towards the ferret.

Hunter tilted his head, "Is that all?"

"Uh...yeah? You're being arrested, what else I could say?"

The ferret chuckled, "Not much."

Suddenly Vanessa and Ben walked towards them from behind, it didn't long for Nick to find out the tables were turned.

The fox nervously laughed, "You know, the whole arrested thing, it was a joke! I just wanted to ruffle your feathers, see? Gotcha!"

Hunter wasn't amused, "Mm-hm, that's rich Officer Wilde. I suppose you thought you were sneaky weren't you? I thought you would be smarter than this."

Vanessa slammed Nick into the wall, causing him to groan out in pain, "Listen, maybe we can work something out?" he pleaded still smiling a little.

Hunter nodded, "I'm sure you would, but I'm more of the cautious type, we'll see if you keep the same tone later."

The fox hoped desperately that his partner would appear out of nowhere and knock some sense into the ferret, but it was futile to believe a miracle would appear this time.

"How long you knew that I was here?" Nick asked trying to figure out how he was compromised.

"I would say since you entered the warehouse. A fox entering a predator supremacy group? Major red flag. It wasn't a coincidence that a fox entered the police force and suddenly there was a very similar looking fox decided to look into our group." Hunter explained.

"So what? You're going to kill me now?" Nick taunted.

"Maybe. I'm not sure honestly what to do with you right now, I guess your precious bunny might try to save you later."

Nick growled, "Don't you dare touch her!"

"Aw, seems the fox has fell for a bunny, the irony is noted."

The ferret pulled out a syringe from his suit, "I've been experimenting with the so called Roaring Sugar formula for a while. I feel this may be ready for full production soon, but I'm going to need a guinea pig first."

"Too bad there aren't any here huh?" Nick quipped despite his situation.

"Shut it, shit for brains." Vanessa ordered.

"Guinea pig or not, it needs to be tested."

The fox wasn't keen to be used as a test subject for any sort of drug, "Hey, I'm more of the natural healing type of fox, herbs and kumbaya you know?"

"That's nice..." Hunter suddenly stuck the needle into the fox's arm causing Nick to yelp.

"Ah! What are you doing?" he shouted out.

Hunter smirked, "After studying the effects of Nighthowler and Roaring Sugar, I've created a sort of in-between that theoretically should keep you under conscious control of your body, but remove the constraints of civilization off you."

"You're going to make me a feral?" Nick said struggling to remove himself from Vanessa's grip.

"Of course not, too cruel, I'm merely going to improve you a little bit, make you a better police officer. Vanessa, if you mind?"

She smiled, "Gladly."

She landed a hard hit in the back of his head, the impact was painful and promptly made the fox lose control of his body long enough for him to fall to the floor.

He cried out in pain as the drug began to over come his body, "Please, not again!"

"Should be fine, I doubt the drug will completely immobilize you. I just hope you learn to keep in control of yourself, have a good rest of your evening Officer Wilde."

The ferret walked away with the two tigers as the pain continued to burn inside the fox lying down on the wet concrete, " _F-Fuck you..."_


	22. Chapter 22

Skye napped the entire time that Jack was gone, and she still felt a little tired from being inside the jail cell all night without a proper pillow or blanket to keep her comfy while she slept.

Jack's scent on the bed and in the room did comfort her a good amount while she napped so she didn't feel like actually leaving the room for any reason, except for a rumble in her stomach.

She woke up feeling the hunger build up inside her, she sighed and tried to rest it off, but her stomach refused to let her go empty, "Hmph, I shuold get something to eat..." she lazily groaned out as she lifted herself from the soft bed.

" _Would've been better if Jack was in the bed with me_." she mused as she stretched her body.

Skye left Jack's room, "Hmm, maybe William would like something to eat."

She knocked on his door, "Hey William, you hungry?" she asked.

"I'm kind of busy _."_

"Aw, but don't you want-"

"I'm _busy_." he emphasized the last word.

Skye understood the cat wanted privacy, "Fine. I'll make my own food."

"Don't burn the house down." William said through the door.

The vixen chuckled at his little joke, "If I do, you'll be the first to know."

Skye certainly knew how to cook for herself, she had lived by herself ever since she left her parent's house shortly after high school to join the ZBI. Skye occasionally did talk to them, but they weren't exactly close knit as Jack was to his parents, or William to Jack.

However her past was, she was now happy that Jack decided to give the relationship a second chance, something that the vixen would have never predicted herself. The buck wasn't the kind to forget previous transgressions so easily, adding to his firm stance on most issues, Skye was sure that he wouldn't rejected her as soon as she asked the buck to reconsider them being together.

William was another matter entirely, Skye had been familiar with the cat since he was first adopted by Jack, and despite them never directly meeting each other before recently Skye did feel a connection to Jack's son, and was interested in calling William if not her son at least as a family member. From the reactions and attitude that William displayed towards her was fairly positive if a little cautious, she understood he was acting so.

Skye opened the refrigerator in the kitchen, "Hmm...at least there's some kind of meat. I guess I could make some kind of cooked fish with vegetables."

She collected the ingredients and set them down on the counter, acquiring a pan and some oil to cook the fish.

"I wonder if I should make something for Phil and Emilia since they're here, maybe they are hungry...

Her answer came soon when Emilia walked into the kitchen, "Mm...what's cooking Mama?" she asked the vixen.

"Whatever Jack had in his fridge, so don't go complaining."

The lynx shrugged, "It seems he keeps the same kind of food I would eat, makes sense since his son is a cat, we have similar diets."

Skye smiled, "Good, I hope Phil thinks the same."

Emilia scoffed, "He'll eat whatever keeps his fat ass going."

"Hey, he's only slightly overweight." the vixen joked.

The kitchen was filled with the laughter of the two as Skye continued to cook the food.

"Sometimes I wish he would take an effort to eat healthier and maybe work out some more. But he's as stubborn as...well a mule." Emilia told the vixen.

Skye nodded, "I can see that. But it doesn't mean fundamentally that Phil is a bad person, he's just that way because of the circumstances."

The lynx could think back to when she first met Phil, he held a shallow demeanor towards me. He even said that he only got to know me because he wanted a 'fuck buddy', but now when no one's looking he's more than happy to cuddle with me."

Skye smirked and wrapped her arm around the lynx's neck, "Look at my fierce little kitty taming a rowdy raccoon."

"Hey! Knock it off! Let go!" Emilia cried out.

"Nope. How am I supposed to let go of such a special friend?"

The lynx groaned, "That's sweet and all, but seriously, let go."

Skye laughed and did as told, "There. Anyways the food is almost done." she said observing the browning fish.

The two heard someone coming down, "Wanna guess who it is?" Emilia suggested.

"Could be any of the guys." Skye guessed.

It was actually William, he entered the kitchen looking quite excited with his tail swinging around and his ears pointed up.

"You guys cooked some fish?"

Skye was captured by the cat's rather adorable expression of joy, "Yup, I was feeling pretty hungry. I've made enough for a couple of servings."

As they began to make their plates Jack suddenly rushed into the kitchen, looking quite worried, "Jack! You're here, I just made..." Skye said before being interrupted by the rabbit.

"Hunter is onto us." he simply stated.

Skye nearly dropped her plate in shock, "Oh crap..."

William looked at both of them, "What? He knows about us?"

Jack solemnly nodded, "It seems so, one of his cronies delivered a message. Said he was 'getting closer'." he said.

Skye growled, "As if that little bitch of a ferret is going to get to you or William."

Emilia was taken aback by the normally laid-back vixen's outburst, "Whoa, where did this Skye come from?"

Jack smirked at the lynx, "This Skye appears when she gets into 'agent mode' as I like to call it."

"Damn right. I'll _skin_ that ferret alive before he tries to do anything." Skye said pretending to grasp him.

William whistled, "Brutal. I like it."

The cat imagined himself as a hunter on the prowl on his all fours, going for the kill, taking a bite at his neck.

Jack snapped his fingers in front of his son's face, "William, no fantasizing about hunting." he scolded.

For the rabbit it was obvious when the cat's mind began to drift into his primal state, his pupils would dilate, his tail would suddenly stop in its place, and his smile became much more sinister.

"I wasn't thinking it!" His son objected.

Emilia shrugged, "I don't know, you seemed ready to kill something for a second there. I know Hunter is a dangerous dude that needs to be put down, but you really should not think about bloodshed right now. Take my advice, I know cats are prone to want to take a walk on the 'wild side', but each time it ends poorly."

William sighed, "Fine, I won't go wild then, gosh..." he said rolling his eyes.

"Hmm, this does present a problem." Jack commented.

"And what's that?" his son questioned frowning.

The buck looked at the still warm cooked fish on the counter, "Its seems that in the time that you have been under my care, we both suppressed your tendencies to want to hunt. I wonder if there's a thing about teaching young predators about hunting..."

Skye nodded, "There is, typically the parents play hunt with their kids, typically just with toys, just to get it out of their system essentially." she explained.

To Jack it seemed like a major drawback to raising William himself, for the rest of the cat's childhood there was no actual predator role model to teach him how to properly control his actions.

"So, I was supposed to pretend hunt with him? I don't even know how to approach that, I honestly had not thought it was an actual thing." the buck said looking at his paws.

"Yeah. I've seen this before, when a predator child isn't raised correctly, they tend to have a stronger need to do what the primal part of their brain says to do." Emilia told the rabbit.

William sighed, "So what? Am I some kind of defected kid then?"

Skye shook her head, "Of course not, it's just that since Jack was your dad, you only had a rabbit for a role model. So you just followed his example, and it shows."

"Really? Like what?" The cat asked.

The vixen chuckled, "The main thing that comes to mind is that sometimes you twitch your nose when you get emotional or stressed, just like Jack. I've never seen other cats or felines for that matter do that."

The cat gasped and covered his nose, "I really do that?"

Jack laughed, "You take after me more than you think. You seem to enjoy carrots quite a bit more than the average cat. Sometimes you hop a little when you run, and when you get mad you tend to stamp your foot."

"Oh my god...you're right, I never noticed though." William realized thinking back to his habits.

"There's no shame in acquiring the habits of another species, it happens a lot in Zootopia since we all live together."

The vixen smiled, "He's right, I learned how to climb trees and sleep in them because a squirrel taught me how when I was little. It's not unnatural for one species to copy another."

Emilia shrugged, "I do some things a lynx normally doesn't do too, it's no biggie."

"The only thing that stands out is that you are much more tolerant of being around rabbits since one raised you. And I think that is the best thing about Jack raising you, you treat prey as equals rather than a separate category."

William smiled a little, "Really?"

The vixen nodded, "You're a sweetheart, despite what others may think, even yourself."

Jack clapped his paws together, "Alright. I need to contact Officer Hopps and Wilde. See if they found anything."

* * *

Nick grunted as he limped down the darkening wet alley, " _Fuck, my legs...they burn, my head burns a little too."_

His entire body wasn't reacting well to the drug itself, the only thing that kept him going was the surge of energy that the Roaring Sugar was providing.

"Where the hell is Carrots _?"_ he muttered as he desperately searched around for the vehicle that she was supposed to be in.

There was nobody else in the vicinity to either assist or bother the fox, which deep down he was grateful for as he didn't have the energy otherwise to deal with other people besides walking slowly.

" _I need water...something..._ "

He then remembered he had his phone on him, he groaned as he forced his arm into his pocket and fished out the device.

" _Please pick up, I beg you."_

"Nick? Nick! Where are you?"

The fox coughed and sniffed, "Oh, just somewhere in a alley next to the warehouse, do you mind swinging around to pick me up." he asked a little weakly.

"Y-Yeah! I'll be right there in a jiffy!" she responded.

Nick chuckled a little, "Bless your sweet little heart fluff..." he told her before hanging up.

He figured that since his partner knew where he was he could sit down and spare his body the pain of forcing himself to walk.

Nick laid his head back on the wall, and his vision began to blur a little as his head began to feel light-headed, " _A_ _m I dying? Everything is getting slower..."_

His hearing was also affected, as everything had an echo to it, including the sound of a vehicle quickly approaching him.

The car parked right next to him and Judy quickly hopped out of it and ran over to the delirious fox, "Nick! W-What did they do to you?"

The fox could barely respond, "T-They got me..."

Judy held his shoulders, "Who got you?"

Nick gritted his teeth and looked at his left arm, "H-Hunter..."

All of a sudden Nick snapped his teeth at her, "Ah! Nick! What are you doing?"

Nick could no longer speak correctly as his mouth seemed to resist any commands from his brain.

"Carrots..." he said as his head bobbed a little from side to side with a drunken smile.

"Nick, snap out of it! Were did Hunter go?" the doe asked him.

"He went down the alley." he groaned out before coughing a little.

Judy stood back a little as she watched the fox slowly lift himself back up, "Nick! You're hurt! Don't go overdo it!" she said assisting him.

"Judy...I'm sorry for letting them get to me." he whispered sadly to her.

"Don't apologize, I know you didn't mean to be on any kind of drug, I know you're not like that." she said trying to comfort him.

He nodded and winced as he lifted his leg, "Everything aches right now, and my heart is pounding, my paws are sweaty."

The fox then growled a little inadvertently, "I can't...I can't control it."

The doe frowned, "You can Nick, don't give in!"

Nick cried out again as his body dropped back to the floor, "You gotta get out of here fluff, I don't know what those drugs are going to do to me."

"No way, I'm not letting this dumb fox die on the streets now am I?" she huffed.

"But Hunter..." he uttered out before coughing again.

Judy took a deep breath and grunted as she lifted the heavier fox off the ground and guided him to the car, "Forget him for now, just hang in there Nick, we'll take you to the hospital and they'll give you the antidote to the drugs."

Nick panicked, "No! Don't take me there, they'll think I'm some sort of drug addict and throw me in the slammer!"

"Just tell them was happened and they'll understand." Judy consoled him.

"B-But, they wouldn't be able to tell who I am!"

The fox was beginning to twitch as the drug began to already wear off a little, causing his body to suffer the side effects.

"I'm getting cold..."

Judy opened the car door, "I'll crank up the heat then, sit down."

Nick struggled onto the car seat and gave a hearty sigh when he settled down, Judy ran to her seat immediately turned on the climate control.

"See? Can you feel it?" she said.

The fox felt the warm flow of air on his fur and smiled a little, "It feels great, thanks..."

He suddenly closed his eyes and went limp, causing Judy to panic.

"Nick? Nick! Don't you die on me!" she cried out to him.

She noticed his deep, steady breaths and sighed in relief, "Thought I lost you, don't scare me like that ever again."

The seemingly peaceful fox still twitched in various parts of his body, but overall he seemed just unconscious.

Judy's phone rang and she immediately reached for it sighing when she saw who was calling.

"Hey Jack." she simply said.

" _Judy? You sound off, everything alright?"_ he asked with concern.

The doe took a glance at the limp fox, "We ran into a problem."

" _What kind of problem?"_

"The Nick is unconscious and on drugs kind of problem." she replied.

There was a pause before Jack returned to the phone, "You're kidding me right?"

"It's not like that though! Someone drugged him and now something's wrong with him." she quickly corrected his disbelief.

" _Fuck me, alright take him to the hospital, I'll be there."_ he instructed her.

Judy nodded, "Got it, I'll see you there." she said before hanging up.

As it was evening the alleyway was quickly getting darker and the rain continued to gather strength, Judy sat there in the car feeling some guilt inside herself as she felt that she couldn't reach Nick in time to save him, now she didn't know if the fox was going to wake up anytime soon.

She cried out in frustration and slammed her fist on the steering wheel as she felt mad at herself for assuming Nick would be okay on his own, but it was obvious now that they needed each other, they were a team; and Judy let him down.

" _I'm sorry Nick, I should've been with you this entire time."_


	23. Chapter 23

_**There's some Judy x Jack interaction in this chapter, nothing explicit or serious, but I know some of you have differing opinions about them, just wanted to let you know :)**_

Jack hung up his phone, "Officer Hopps needs me, Nick seems to be incapacitated and they are en route to the hospital right now." he explained to the others in the kitchen.

Skye gasped, "Oh no...is Nick alright?"

The buck shrugged, "I don't know, all Judy mentioned was that Nick was drugged and unconscious."

"Dad, you're really going over there? You just got back from work." William complained frowning at his father.

"I'm sorry for this unexpected event, but it is my duty to oversee that the mission doesn't end in failure, and also, I am partly responsible for what happens to them. As such I will make sure that they both make it through unharmed." Jack told his son apologetically.

"Fine, you do what you have to do then. It's just that anytime something bad happens you blame yourself, it's not healthy." the cat confessed.

His son's statement touched him, he had a point in that Jack tended to be overly apologetic for any inconvenience that he had or had not taken a part in, but it was in the rabbit's personality to try to protect others if he could, even if they weren't close to him.

Emilia sat down on a chair, "Just go over there, we'll be fine, not much we could do over there anyways except be a bother."

"You sure?" Jack asked them all.

Skye smiled a little, "Yes, we'll be here waiting for you to come back, besides I just made some food and I'm not letting it go to waste."

The buck smiled back, "How thoughtful of you, and for you William?"

"As much as I would like to come along, I'm not passing up delicious fish, besides I'll probably piss you off somehow along the way there."

Jack chuckled in good humor, "Duly noted, alright I'll be on my way then, cheers." he said.

After a fairly lengthy drive Jack arrived at Zootopia General Hospital and quickly made his way up to the room where Nick was ushered to.

He knocked on the door and it opened with a tearful Judy, "Jack!" she hugged him tightly, "Thank you for coming."

"Um...my pleasure? Would you mind letting go now?" he asked.

"Oh! Sorry, I got a little too excited, heh." Judy said feeling a little embarrassed.

Jack dusted off his suit, "No harm done, though I suppose I can't say the same for Officer Wilde."

The fox was now in a gown, his fur remained the same dark brown as before, and he seemed to be peacefully sleeping as an IV drip delivered antidote to his body.

"The doctor said he was suffering from some shock from the drug's effects, but he's doing okay right now." Judy explained right now calming herself down.

Jack sighed, "Listen Judy, I'm...I'm sorry."

"Don't say you're sorry. It was my fault that Nick ended up like this, I thought he could really handle himself, but it turned out he couldn't and I wasn't there to save him." she said before trying to cry again.

Jack was taken in by her eyes, especially now that they were glistening from her tears.

The buck held a paw on her shoulder, "Please save the tears for later, I'm sure Nick wouldn't appreciate seeing you like this."

Judy laughed a little, "I guess you're right, I'm overreacting, he'll be fine. Just needs to rest for a little."

"Shall we sit down then and talk while we wait?" Jack suggested.

"That sounds nice."

The two sat down on the chairs by the wall, and there was a minute or so of silence between them before Judy spoke up.

"It was nice of you to go out of your way to drop by Jack." Judy thanked him gratefully.

He nodded, "Of course, I didn't want to be a cold bunny and rebuke your request. I want to show that I do care about what happens to either of you."

"I'm sorry for making you leave your family for a little bit."

The buck shrugged, "They'll be fine, they understood what I had to do."

Jack looked around the room, "This room seems a bit drab, I'm sure I would object to even my unconscious body being here."

The doe chuckled, "Oh come on, it's not that bad! It's just a hospital room after all, they can't exactly make it a ritzy hotel room in here."

"I understand that, but still, it's so... _sterile."_ he commented on the gray room.

"Were hospitals any better trimmed from you're from?" she asked him.

He laughed, "Oh heavens no, our's are even worse; some building are overstuffed, and in need of repair. But it is free to some extent."

"Wow, for some reason I thought it would be more, you know, appointed." Judy admitted to him.

"Unlike the TV shows that depict my country, such establishments are to be precise, utter shite."

She was taken aback by his harsh language, "Is it really that bad?"

"In a pinch it's okay for medical emergencies, but if you're coming for example to talk to a doctor about something, you gotta wait in line."

The buck looked towards the fox and his ears dropped down, "I'm truly sorry Nick, I should've been more cautious over trying to apprehend Hunter so quickly. But I neglected to think of what he had up his sleeve to counter us."

Jack got up and slowly walked to the resting fox, and held his paw, "When you wake up, yell at me, insult me, swipe at me. I truly deserve what you throw at me. I welcome it." he told the unconscious Nick.

Judy also got up and held both their paws, "Nick isn't like that, he won't fault you for what they did to him. But I'll definitely show them what happens when you tick off his friend." she said with determination.

Jack could feel the anger from her words, "In due time, first we should let Nick recover and then we'll make our next move. Hunter will not get away any longer and wreak any havoc."

The doe's grip on Jack's paw tightened, "It's funny, before I would've been less willing to chase after someone that seems so dangerous, but now..."

Judy knew right there how much Nick now meant to her, before he was a useful ally against a tyrannical Bellwether, but now he was a close friend, maybe even something more.

"Jack, when we are done with this mission, let's keep in contact."

The buck was surprised, "Really?"

"Yeah. Despite what's happened these past few days, you've been a good person to be around, and Nick and I think you're a good friend also." Judy said smiling at him.

"A good friend..."

Jack shook his head, "I can't be that to you or Nick."

"Huh, why?" Judy questioned him surprised at his rejection at her offer.

"Because I'm a busy rabbit Judy, I'm an agent of the ZBI. That alone makes it difficult enough to give outside time for friends outside the agency itself, and then you add taking care of William."

Judy looked at his rather soft looking blue eyes, "We could still talk on the phone."

He looked at her, "Can you really call that friendship though? Besides, wouldn't you be busy policing the city?"

"Well yeah of course, but I still have the time to hang out with Nick, my family, other officers in the department, and even people around the city."

"You would even make time for me?" he asked a little astonished at the doe's ability to be able to schedule time for herself.

She nodded happily, "We can make it work, we live in the same city right? It shouldn't be too hard to find something to do, even for a few minutes."

"That's so kind of you Judy I..."

The doe noticed his tears, "Aw, don't cry Jack! You're going to make me cry again."

"Sorry, I just couldn't control myself. You two are doing so much for me already that I keep finding myself being surprised by your generosity."

"Why? I'm sure you get plenty of help from others since you work in an agency." Judy said to him patting his shoulder.

"That's the thing. Beyond the other agents assisting me from time to time on important tasks and assignments, for most of my life I have been more or less forced to build my life up with my own paws, and along with that help William become an adult by myself, I have never had that much time to myself. And for the most part, I felt empty in a relationship sense."

"You didn't have any relationships?" she asked somewhat shocked that the handsome, British buck who was fairly well off hasn't been already hitched to someone.

"Not since Skye really, maybe one night stands, but beyond that...nothing." he said looking down.

"But you're a great rabbit Jack, anyone would be lucky to have you."

Jack sarcastically laughed, "You would think that, but I'm not really worthy to be praised like that. I'm not particularly interesting beyond the agent part, I have a rather short temper, and without being drunk I come off as a bore to be with."

"You're not boring to me, I have fun with you when we go out on the streets to look for clues."

"I suppose since you're an officer, and you solved that Nighthowler case you may be inclined to find enjoyment in situations like these, but in everyday life, I'm not exactly the talk of the town Judy." he explained to her with a wry smile.

"Don't say things like that about yourself, you're more fun than you think you are." the doe countered winking.

"Well that's the first time I heard someone said that to me in a long time." he admitted.

Judy chuckled, "Have more confidence in yourself, if you do then good things will happen, trust me."

"Bless your sweet heart Judy, to meet you and even Nick turned out to be a good thing for sure. And I'm grateful for it."

The two stood there looking at each other for a long while, Jack found himself being drawn into her gaze, and that warm feeling he felt when he saw Skye at the docks returned.

"I uh..." Jack struggled to find the words to speak to her.

Judy chuckled a little, "Guess it's kind of awkward without Nick to liven things up huh?"

"Y-Yes, I suppose you are correct."

" _Damn it, now I'm feeling something for Judy. Control yourself Jack!"_

"You alright Jack?" Judy asked noticing his confused looking face.

" _Don't you dare risk this Jack, you've got too much to lose now!"_ his conscious told himself as Jack drew slightly closer to Judy.

"Jack what are you-mmph!"

The buck pressed his lips against hers for a second, before he abruptly let go, " _Fuck, you've done it now..."_

Judy stood there frozen as she was processing was just happened, but by the time she realized what was just done the buck was already out of the room.

"Did he just kiss me?" she said to herself touching her lips.

She had to know why Jack did just that and immediately left the room as well.

Meanwhile Jack ran towards the nearest restroom and looked at himself in the mirror, the stains on his face did confirm that was crying earlier, and now that he just kissed Judy, a whirlwind of emotions torn at him inside.

"What in hell are you doing Jack? You're trying to repair your relationship with Skye, not with Judy!" he said frowning at himself.

The impression of her soft lips remained imprinted on his mind, he was extremely conflicted; did he love Skye or did he love Judy?

"I need to apologize to her for my idiotic actions. Maybe she'll forgive me."

He opened the door and to his shock the doe was standing there.

"Judy, please forgive me, I shouldn't have..."

The doe sighed, "Jack, don't say anything."

The buck shut his mouth and stood there afraid of what she was going to do next.

"Come here." Judy beckoned to him.

Jack did as she asked, and she hugged him closer and returned the kiss.

The kiss last much longer, even drawing a few interested stares from passerby's, but they ignored each other as they were enveloped in their interaction. Jack himself was completely uninterested in anything else except her, holding her tight to him.

Judy finally let go, leaving Jack in a daze, "I wanted to see if you were serious about that kiss." she told him still hugging him.

"But what about Nick?" Jack asked now very confused about her reciprocal affection.

"I don't know, to be honest I kissed him too. Maybe I just like being affectionate?" she said shrugging.

"We shouldn't tell Nick, I believe he won't take our...exchange well."

"I guess, I don't know if Nick really loves me or not. But better not to hurt him while he's still recovering right?"

" _This is terrible. If Skye finds out our relationship is over, and if William found out..."_

The doe released him from her hug and held his paws, "This doesn't change anything alright? I just know that you have feelings for me okay? I won't let that damage our friendship."

He sighed in relief, "Thank you Judy, I'm sorry for being such trouble right now, I can't seem to decide on anything..."

"Jack, you should know by now, but I feel attracted to you as well." Judy reminded him.

The agent began to speculate whether Mr. Carter was right in that Judy would be a good person enter a relationship with, after their kiss together there was no doubt that Jack was attracted to her, and especially now that Judy admitted it too, the possibility of them being together seemed plausible to him now.

"I'm aware, but I didn't think it was any more than just being smitten with me."

The doe chuckled, "Trust me, if you kissed me earlier today I would've been all over you."

"What do you mean earlier today?" the buck questioned her a little uneasy.

"I sorta forgot to take my pills earlier. Let's just say I wasn't feeling myself before."

The doe noticed that Jack happened to be wearing those same pants she found herself 'admiring' earlier.

" _Maybe...just maybe..."_

Jack noticed her biting her lip a little and looking down, "Is there something wrong?"

"N-Nothing, I just was thinking about something."

"What?"

Judy sighed, "I just was thinking what it would've been like to date you before."

"Date me? That's interesting..."

"I like you a lot Jack, as a friend. But sometimes I wonder..." she trailed off thinking of a potential future with him as family.

The buck didn't know how to approach this, Judy seemed to be interested to enter a relationship with him, but he was already trying to mend one with Skye. Would Jack just drop everything with the vixen to pursue something else with Judy?

"Listen, I appreciate that you confessed to me how you feel about me, but the truth is that for now it wouldn't be a wise idea to start something while we are still on the case, hopefully you understand."

Judy nodded and sighed, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"But, I'll humor you for a little longer." he said holding her in his arms and nuzzling his muzzle against her's affectionately.

She chuckled, "Jack! Stop it, that tickles!"

"Perhaps if circumstances allow it, maybe we could try something in the future, alright?" Jack proposed to her.

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind." she said smiling at him.

Jack continued to hug her, "Let's go back to Nick, I'm sure he'll be quite happy to see us with him, don't you agree?"

"Yup, let's go."

 _ **Hopefully this isn't too controversial, but I wanted to shake things up a bit, sorry for potentially upsetting you...thanks for reading anyways! :)**_


	24. Chapter 24

" _Huh, where am I? Is this...Jack's house?"_ Nick thought as he woke up on the familiar couch.

"Morning Nick..." Jack said as he walked into the living room in only a long white shirt.

"Jack? What are you doing here? Why am _I_ here?" the fox asked confusingly looking around the house.

The buck chuckled, "Silly fox, are you pretending to forget what happened last night?"

"Last night?" Nick said holding his head, "But I swear I was..."

He looked down and saw he was nude causing him to promptly cover himself up with his tail in shock, "Where are my clothes?"

Jack leaped onto him, "You were such a naughty fox Nick Wilde, it took a lot out of me to keep you under control." he said teasingly lying down on his stomach.

The fox found himself laying his paws on Jack's back, "What did you mean exactly?"

"You know exactly what he means Slick."

Nick found Judy standing behind him also smiling lustfully, "We had such a good time. In fact, we should do it again."

"She's right Nick, I want you so bad to show me what you are truly capable of." Jack told the fox murring into his ear.

The fox gulped, "This sounds...awesome."

He felt in heaven as the two bunnies seem to be wanting him so much, "Well if you guys insist, I could always make some time for my two tasty treats." he said licking his lips.

Jack stooped down almost touching Nick's mouth and grinned, "Oh Nick, I can't wait for you...to wake up."

"What? I'm already awake." Nick told the buck.

"Nick, wake up!" Judy told him.

"But I am!" the fox insisted.

Suddenly everything seemed to dissolve into blurriness, and Nick gasped as he truly woke up back into reality.

"Nick? Nick! You're awake!" Judy yelled out in excitement before she hugged him firmly.

"C-Carrots...where am I?" he asked gladly hugging her back.

"At the hospital, you were sent here after you fell victim to the drugs that were inside your body." Jack explained standing across the bed from Judy.

"I remember I was in the car, and then I fell asleep." he told them looking around the room.

Judy sniffed, "I honestly thought I was going to lose you Nick! I'm so sorry!"

Nick patted her back, "It's okay, I'm here alright? Alive and kicking."

"You sure are Nick." she said fighting back more tears.

"Not like me to leave you by yourself, that would be pretty rude of me wouldn't it?" he said rubbing her back.

The buck sighed, "Good to see that you are healthy Nick, it would be quite the tragedy if something were to happen to you. I must apologize for getting you into this situation in the first place."

Nick smirked at him, "Don't put yourself down like that Stripes, I have to admit it's a pleasure to see you came to grace my presence."

Jack couldn't hold back the little chuckle, "I see. Well then, your going to be out of commission while you recuperate I assume?"

"Chilling like a villain is what I'm planning to do, I'm sure that won't be a big problem for you?" Nick stretching out his body.

Jack shook his head, "Shouldn't be a huge issue, we'll focus on apprehending Hunter while you stay here."

Nick suddenly frowned, "Hunter..."

The buck noticed the change in his expression, "Hmm? Something wrong?"

"I saw him Jack, he was the one who did this to me." he growled out.

"I know Nick, Judy told me what happened and where." Jack informed the fox.

Judy thumped her foot, "That dude's gonna pay. I'll make sure of it!"

"Agreed. It is time to put an end to this." Jack said to them both.

Nick turned to Jack, "Do that for me. And Zootopia of course, but mostly for me. Knock his ass out to the next century."

"It'll be a pleasure to fulfill your wish Nick." Jack assured showing off his fist.

" _How can someone be so cute and hot at the same time? I swear I would do so many things to you..."_ Nick thought.

"You're a great friend Jack." he said giving him a thumbs up.

Jack was a little flustered, "Y-Yes..."

Judy chuckled, "Shouldn't you be heading home now?"

The buck nodded, "You're right, I'll be on my way. It was a pleasure to see you well Nick."

The fox pouted, "What? No hug?"

Jack rolled his eyes but held out his arms, and Nick pulled him in, "There, happy?" Jack said.

The fox made it clear it was merely a friendly hug, "Very."

Jack let go and huffed, "Alright, we'll meet again soon."

"Count on it buddy, stay safe."

As Jack left the room the fox yawned and made himself more comfy on the bed.

"Yo fluff, any idea what kind of grub they have here?" Nick asked the rabbit feeling his stomach was quite empty.

Judy shrugged, "Don't know, I don't really go to hospitals. Why don't you ask a nurse?"

The fox nodded, "True. Should be a button or something...hmm, what's this one do?"

Nick pressed the button on the edge of his bed, which moved the bed up, "Nope. I'm pressing all of them until someone feeds me."

"I don't think you should do that. It might break the bed." she warned him.

Nick scoffed, "Pfft, my insurance's covering my bills, I can't see why I can't press to my heart's content."

After pressing all the buttons, which seemed to do various things to the bed he gave up, "Great. Now I'm stuck here starving to death."

He had an idea, "Carrots? Can you be a friend and fetch me some snacks? Pretty please?" Nick asked her with puppy eyes.

Judy sighed but nodded, "Fine, anything in mind?" she asked.

"Hmm...anything tasty, with blueberries preferably? Maybe some coffee? And-" he said listing of all the things he wanted.

"Slow down there chief, I'll bring whatever they have okay?" she told him holding up his paws.

"You're a lifesaver, I'm glad that I got stuck with you." he said leaning his head back again.

Judy chuckled, "I get it, I'll be back okay?"

He nodded as she got up and left the room as well.

Nick couldn't find his phone anywhere inside the room itself, so he assumed the hospital placed it somewhere safe. All that he could do in the meanwhile was watch TV and relax while the doe hopefully found something edible for the fox to consume.

Despite him being stuck on a hospital bed, he felt some happiness that at least Judy and Jack came to make sure he was okay, the thought of it definitely made him feel assured and welcomed, something he wasn't exactly used to.

" _Wonder how long it'll take me to leave this place, hopefully not too long, I want to have some personal time with my dear friend Steve Bernard."_ He thought as he began to growl.

Meanwhile Judy walked down the hallway of the hospital trying to find a map of the place to locate the cafeteria.

"Ugh, this place is huge! The things I do for that dumb fox..." she muttered.

"Excuse me! Do you know where the cafeteria is?" Judy asked a staff member passing by.

"Yeah, you're going the wrong way, it's the other way down the hallway and down a flight of stairs." the female porcupine explained to her.

The doe sighed, "Great. Thanks for pointing that out."

"No problem Ms. Hopps."

The doe's ears pointed up at the mention of name, "Wait. How did you-"

The porcupine chuckled, "You're pretty popular around these parts, I recognize that face anywhere. Keep up the good work!" she congratulated as she walked off.

Judy smiled, "Thanks! I will!"

After following the porcupine's instructions she found herself at the cafeteria, which seemed to contain several varieties of various foodstuffs to get.

"Excuse me!" Judy called out to the cashier.

"Officer Hopps! What can I do for you today!" the ram asked.

"Do you have any thing that has blueberries in it?" she asked hopefully.

The ram scratched his head, "Hmm...I think we carry blueberry yogurt."

Judy nodded, "That would be great!"

"Let's see, here's one!" he grabbed the cup, "Here you go."

Judy gratefully grabbed it, "Thanks! How much is it?"

"It's free. Since Officer Wilde is footing the bill anyways." the ram explained.

"Oh yeah, well, thanks." she said waving to them before running back to his room.

She rushed back in no time at all as she didn't want the fox to go hungry during his stay.

"Nick!" she panted, "There was some blueberry yogurt!"

The fox turned to her excitedly, "Yes! Bring it here please!"

He snatched the cup from her rather greedily but realized something was missing, "Uh Carrots...is there a spoon?"

The doe groaned, "I forgot! Don't worry I get one right now."

"I'll just let it drop to my mouth then, no biggie." he shrugged as he opened the lid.

"Don't do that Nick, you'll make a mess." she scolded him.

He stuck his tongue out at her, "This is what I think of your warning."

Judy sighed as he sat down on the chair and pulled out her phone.

"Thanks for bringing the yogurt here fluff, don't think I'm being ungrateful." the fox told her.

"Yeah, I know Nick, I know..."

The fox was curious about her rather disinterested expression, "Was it something I said? Why are you acting like that?" he asked putting down the yogurt.

"I'm fine Nick, really! I just..." Judy looked down, "I was just thinking about something."

Nick raised his eyebrow, "Thinking about what?"

The doe sighed and twiddled her thumbs, "Hypothetically, what if I started seeing someone?"

Nick shrugged, "I would say cool. Why do you ask?"

"R-Really? You'll be cool about it?" the doe said surprised that the fox was okay with her question.

He nodded, "Of course, I mean, I wouldn't be exactly thrilled, but if he's a nice person then I'll be fine with it."

"I...wow. I didn't think you would act like that." Judy admitted.

The fox looked outside, "I guess us being something else is out the window..." he muttered.

"What's that?"

Nick looked back at her with a smirk, "I said I can't wait to tell your boyfriend all the embarrassing stories I can think about you."

"Nick, it's a hypothetical question. I'm not actually dating anybody." she reminded him.

"Oh right..." Nick said rolling his eyes, "Anyways, you looking to date someone now?" he asked returning to eating his yogurt.

Judy grabbed her ear, "I mean...it's complicated honestly, it's hard to say."

"Hmm? What's complicated? You're dating, or you're not. Unless it's another girl you're talking about, in which case..."

The doe adamantly shook her head, "I'm not dating another female! How can I describe it?" she pondered it for a moment, "Let's say you're working with this guy alright? He's cute, he's smart, and now you see him every day, you know?"

Nick smiled as those descriptions fit him, "That's one way of putting it."

"But then...there's another person."

" _Hmm? Another one, what is she up to?"_

Judy gripped her pants, "Um, maybe I'm saying too much." she said looking away.

"I'm your friend Carrots, you can trust me, there's no one else here to judge you." he affirmed.

The doe sighed, "You're right." she took a deep breath and looked at him directly, "I'm in love with two people." she stated.

He whistled, "Wow, that's rough. I can't really imagine being in love with two guys at once."

The fox took her statement at face value, but couldn't help but wonder if he was one of those two, and if so, it didn't take much more extrapolation to know the other was definitely Jack.

"My recommendation is you need to clear up that indecisiveness in your mind, otherwise you could end breaking hearts." he explained to her.

"That's a little harsh, I don't think it'll be like that." Judy objected to his statement.

"Oh my sweet naive little bunny, thinking that being in love with multiple people isn't going to screw things up in the end."

"Okay. Then how did you think I should fix this?" she asked now interested in his thoughts.

The fox thought on it for a second, "I don't know. Date both guys? See who's the best fit?"

Judy squeezed her ear harder, "I don't know about that, it seems...kind of wrong."

Nick looked back to the TV, "Can't really help you there then, is one of the guys into other guys?"

"I guess?"

The fox grinned, "Refer him to me, I'll get him off your back. Hell, we could even double date, just so you could technically 'date' both of them."

"Something tells me that wouldn't work well Nick."

Nick grinned at her, "Is one of those guys Jack? Just admit it now Carrots, you aren't exactly subtle when someone catches your fancy."

"So what if it is? Is there something wrong with that?" she said blushing.

"Jack's a cool dude, I don't see any problems with dating him." he told her.

"Is that a seal of approval by Nick Wilde?" Judy asked teasingly.

Nick shook his head, "Nope. To get my seal of approval I would need _personal_ one on one time with the lucky person."

"Wait, so you would date him too?" she asked.

He shrugged, "Why not? Except you know, that he's straight."

"Nick...what if the other person was also a close friend?"

"Keep in contact with him I guess? What's with all these questions anyways?"

There was a surge of guilt that built up inside her, "I just...wanted to know if I was making the right choice."

"You didn't make a choice yet, that's why you asked me, remember?" he told her.

"Y-Yeah."

Nick tried to think of something to say to her to try to assuage her concerns, "Okay, how about this? Ask these two guys how they _truly_ feel about you and him being together alright? And then you'll definitely know once and for all who you could try to date with."

The doe looked at the fox with an unsure expression, "I'll try."

The fox could see that her problem was eating her inside, "Don't worry too much about it alright? Give yourself some time, and wait to see if anything changes. If not, go where your heart tells you to okay? I'll support your decision okay?"

Judy smiled at him a little, "You sure?"

"It's not like I'm going to be an asshole just because you decide to live your own life. I'll always be by your side, and you'd do the same right?"

"You mean if you dated someone else? I wouldn't object to that at all, I would be happy to see you happy." Judy said to him smiling.

"Aw, bring it here..." he told her holding out his arms.

Judy happily accepted his request and gave him a hearty hug.

"Ouch, watch the chest there..."

* * *

Jack sat in his car which was parked inside an underground parking lot. The buck went through his kissing with Judy over and over again in his head, he could still remember exactly how her lips felt, they were soft and full, those same words applied to her fur. Her smile and bright eyes implanted in his mind. Skye's smile was definitely more mischievous and sly, while Judy's was gentler and sweeter, in a way they were almost polar opposites of each other.

He groaned and reclined the car seat down to a flat position and stared at the roof, " _Way to go Jack, you just had to get close to Judy. And now she's falling in love with you, you are an utter bastard."_

He envisioned a scenario where he did end up with Judy; he assumed marriage wouldn't be out of the question. But would they go on to have children? Jack wondered how that would even work considering both of them would be very busy with their jobs. He couldn't make William be the babysitter, especially if he was planning to leave the house soon anyways, and it would be too much for the buck to expect Judy to just drop her dream job to become a mother.

If he ended with Skye instead he knew it would be very different; originally the plan was that they would both partake in raising William until he became a full grown adult, and then from there see if it was feasible to maybe adopt another child. The buck was certainly young enough to be able to raise another child, but Skye, who had little experience with child raising was a different manner. Perhaps it would be just them in the house while Jack did agent work and Skye pursued another more stable career.

Then there was Nick, by now it seemed the fox was trustworthy of Jack, and didn't seem to worry any longer about him and Judy being together. In the ensuing moment that occurred between him and Judy, he forgot that Nick also seemed to harbor feelings for his partner as well.

" _I should head home, I'm sure William's waiting for the car so he could do whatever he wanted to do."_

By the time Jack was on the streets it was outright pouring down rain, the gloominess outside made him feel even more melancholic, and a part of him didn't want to go home with all of them still there. He just wanted to go to bed and hide under the covers like he would normally do when stressed.

" _Perhaps some whisky is in order, help me think some more..."_ he thought as he entered the building.

Being gone for a while he expected the others to be elsewhere besides the kitchen which was mostly true, except for William sitting there drinking some tea.

"I'm back William, car's all your's now." he told the cat throwing the keys onto the table.

William grabbed them and smiled gratefully at his father, "Thanks Dad, I'll take good care of it."

"I trust you will. And if there's a girl involved, please do be careful." Jack warned.

The cat noticed his father's stern expression, "Dad...fine, I will."

"Where's Skye and the others?" Jack asked as he loosened his tie.

"Uh, I think Skye is up in your room. And Emilia when with her boyfriend to the store to buy something." he informed his father.

Jack walked towards the pantry and pulled out a bottle, causing William to worry, "Dad...what's with the whisky?"

Despite it being several years since Jack had an 'incident' with William, the memory of Jack downing a large portion of a bottle and then ending either being crippled emotionally or being prone to be enraged have given William a sense of caution.

"It's only going to be a shot, just to help my nerves."

"That's what you said last time, before you drank half the bottle and ended up crying in the bathroom." his son reminded him.

Jack frowned at the cat, "Weren't you going to do something that required my car?" he said in an irritated tone.

William was a little offended by Jack's callous voice, "Damn Dad, okay I will, what bit you in the ass?" he said as left the house.

The buck nearly chased after him to apologize but figured William was going to forget that little exchange soon enough.

He sighed as he grabbed a shot glass from the drawers and set it on the table, "Cheers." he said to him before filling the glass up.

The shot glass was a standard size, which meant it took nearly his whole paw to hold it, "One shouldn't hurt." he down the alcohol swiftly and shuddered a little as the burning sensation spread from his tongue down to his stomach.


	25. Chapter 25

" _Probably a good thing I had something to do, if Dad's drinking like that it means something happened. And I rather not be there to risk him getting mad at me."_

William didn't borrow the car often mostly because his father didn't particularly enjoy handing over the keys to his son, despite being licensed and have received plenty of training from Jack and from a driving school. He was still a new driver and such was prone to performing questionable driving habits such as being on his phone or speeding.

The cat knew he wasn't on call for a mission or going to school so he dress up in his dark green jacket and jeans as he didn't feel the need to make an impression appearance wise, he had other plans to do just that.

William didn't need to drive too far as Tina lived in the same general area, but the cat wanted to show off a little by taking the car with him.

It was fairly late in the afternoon so the sun was still out if not beginning to set, so Tina was already sitting on the porch waiting for him to arrive.

"William!" she shouted out waving to him as he parked on the street.

She rushed to the car as he rolled down the window, "What's up Tina, I see you were waiting for me. Looking great, as usual." he said with a wink.

"I mean yeah, I'm bored to tears right now. My friends are all busy and my parents aren't here." she told him pouting.

William grinned, "I know, you told me earlier." he said with his tail moving excitedly despite being pinned between his back and the seat.

"Yeah, and that's why I asked you to come here, for company."

"I'm here, just like you asked."

"Well come in then, dude!" she told him patting the roof before walking back the front door.

The brown cat did so willingly and followed her inside her house.

It wasn't as well-appointed or large as his own house, but it still comfy all the same.

William hugged the orange cat from behind and wrapped his tail around her, "How long until your parents come back?"

She chuckled as he rubbed his cheek against her's, "I think they said they were going to be gone until pretty late at night."

"Late? What for?" he asked curiously.

"Anniversary date, I think they mentioned something like a dinner and a show or something like that." she explained.

He could smell the perfume she had on, mild enough to not be a bother, he suspected it was vanilla.

"Isn't your older sister still here?" he asked looking around.

Tina rolled her eyes, "At her's boyfriend's again."

"Great, we got the rest of the day to ourselves..." he muttered to her before planting a kiss on the side of her mouth.

"Where do you wanna go?" he purred.

"My room should be okay." she chose.

"Fine by me."

It didn't take long for William to get into the mood as they entered inside her room.

"Nice place. I see you haven't stopped drawing have you?" he asked looking at the various paper drawings strewn on windowsill and desk.

Tina looked through them as well, "I guess...just things I do."

William leaned against the wall, "Should put those in a folder, they're nice drawings, hate to see them get lost." he told her.

"Really? Thanks! I probably should, I'm not exactly an organized kind of girl."

The brown cat smiled at her, "If it's something you want to do, then go for it, I could see you being a successful artist."

"You think so?" she asked surprised.

He walked to her, "Totally, it would be great to see you make more." he said as he brushed her cheek.

"You think other people would like them?" she asked looked at his eyes somewhat excitedly.

He nodded, "Of course, and it'll be great to see you show them off maybe in a art gallery or even at the academy. I could even help you if you want." he suggested to her with a warm smile.

"That's so nice of you to say! To have you as a friend is just an awesome thing you know?"

"Who said we're just friends Tina? We can we be something more you know?" he said tugging her in.

Tina shook a little as he nipped her neck, "William..."

He chuckled a little, "I've thought about it, and I guess I'll say it now, I think I'm starting to like you more."

The cat before wasn't exactly a romantic, at times he may find himself admiring a girl more than usual, but he didn't think of himself actually having an actual girlfriend. At most he would have a brief swing with someone for a few days at most once in a while, but Tina was the first one he felt he could truly connect with, which is why he chose to get to know her so well.

"William..." she began.

He shook his head, "No, I know what you're going to say, but I'm serious. It's been a few months since we started this little thing we had, and I feel you're a special person to me. It sounds weird even to myself to say it, but I think maybe we could in a relationship?"

Tina blushed a little, "You really sure about this?"

He shrugged, "Why not? I figured I should maybe uh...settle down isn't the right word, maybe like, I don't know...get a little more serious?"

The orange cat happily smiled, "I think we could do that, let's do it."

William lowered his paws down to her hips, "We've been doing it for a while anyways, the whole friends with benefits thing is getting kind of old, don't you think?"

"Probably, I was wondering if we we're honestly going to stay this way." she admitted.

"Then it's settled, from now on, let's make this evening a special one..."

The two's lips met each other in passionate fit for a minute.

"Let's not waste time." he said before he swiftly removed his jacket and shirt underneath.

"Wow, you've been working out haven't you?" she commented on his toned physique.

He smirked, "I'm becoming an agent of the ZBI Tina, being in shape is pretty much a requirement."

"Mm, that's right, you're becoming an agent soon huh? That sounds like a pretty sweet gig for you." she said.

William could feel her paws on his chest, "Yup, next year I'll be officially joining the agency. But for now, I'm focusing on something else." he told her looking down.

She giggled, "You sly cat. Alright then..."

He grinned lustfully as Tina removed her shirt and tugged down at her pants, he himself could feel his own tightening at the sight of the female cat revealing herself.

They began to kiss each other as the two gradually migrated to the bed, "It's been a while Tina, too long..." he told her as he laid down on the bed.

She crawled on top of him and reached down to his pants, "Why don't we reintroduce ourselves then? I'm sure we have some catching up to do." she told him.

He uttered a little growl as she pulled down his zipper, "You bet your sweet ass we do. Now let me help with this." he said before reaching up around her chest to unhook her bra.

* * *

Jack sat down at the table feeling quite tipsy after ingesting two shots of whisky, "What utter shite my life is...I'm stuck between two attractive ladies in my life and I can't even get myself together to pick one. Absolute rubbish I am..." he muttered to himself as poured himself another shot of the drink.

"Jack? Are you okay?" Skye called out to him from outside the kitchen.

"I'm doing fine Skye you don't need to worry about me." he replied back slurring his speech a little.

The arctic vixen saw him with the bottle and frowned, "Damn it Jack, you're drinking again?" she scolded the buck.

"Just a little. I'm a little thirsty, that's all." he said as downed another shot.

She grabbed a chair and sat down next to him, "Don't you have a drinking problem? I don't think you should be doing any alcohol, it's only 5 in the afternoon right now." she told him.

Jack burped, "Excuse my harsh words, but I don't need anyone telling me to temper my drinking. I'm a full grown rabbit, and if you have a problem with it, you can kindly _fuck_ _off."_ he said emphasizing the last two words.

"Jack! Don't talk like that to anyone, especially me!" she reprimanded him.

He laughed, "And what you are going to do?"

The vixen smiled, "This." she quickly went around him and grabbed his arm.

"What are you- fucking hell!" he yelled out as the vixen twisted his arm behind his back.

"Now. You gonna say you're sorry?" she politely asked him.

Jack gritted his teeth, "Damn it Skye, let go of me fucking arm!"

She shook her head, "Listen here, apologize or I'll dislocate it right now and you'll be _really_ sorry." she warned him.

The buck grunted and pounded his fist against the table, "Fine! I'm sorry for telling you to fuck off, alright? Now let go!" he cried out in pain.

Skye gladly let go, "There, now that wasn't so bad was it?"

Jack slowly rubbed his arm, "I wonder if you would say the same thing the roles were switched. Fucking hell that hurt. I forgot you were a strong fox."

Despite their history with each other, Skye had little tolerance for other's disregarding her or being hostile, even if it was Jack.

"I'm not some just some floozy girl you stick your dick inside and then kick her to the curb." she reminded him quite sternly.

Jack looked at the table, "I can see that."

"So, why are you hitting the bottle anyways?" she asked now a little concerned about the buck's current state.

He remembered exactly why he decided to nurse the whisky, but felt that it would be best to withhold the reason, "I just needed a drink alright? Is it really too much to ask in my own home?"

"Come on Jack, I know you're not a stress drinker. And it seems you quit smoking a lot time ago judging how you look."

Jack pressed the glass against his forehead, "I'm just thinking about some things alright?"

"Seems like someone's stressed. Do you need someone to help relieve it?" she asked suggestively.

Jack frowned a little, "I think I'm good Skye, please let me be..."

Skye pouted, "Aw, but Jack it's been years..." she whispered to his ear.

The buck tensed up and gripped the shot glass more firmly, "Skye, please..." he said closing his eyes.

"Playing hard to get huh Jack?" she said before nipping his ear.

His body felt tantalized by her bite, but his mind spoke otherwise.

"Damn it Skye! How many times I have to say it?" he angrily yelled at her.

The vixen was utterly confused by his outburst, normally the buck would be by now aroused by her teasing, but instead he was irritated and it wasn't because of the drinking.

She sat back down on her chair, "Okay, what the hell? What happened that made you acting all mad?"

He grabbed the bottle of whisky, "Nothing you need to know Skye." he told her before he went to the living room.

There he sat down on the couch and began directly from the bottle itself, caring no longer for the burning in his throat, he only wanted to drown out his troubles.

Skye looked at the distraught rabbit strewn on the couch, "You look like an addict right now you now?"

Jack groaned, "I don't want to hear it Skye, let me waste away in peace."

The vixen reached over to him and snatched the bottle away from him which quickly frustrated the buck, "What is the big idea-"

He was instantly silenced by her baring her teeth angrily at him, "Listen Jack, what the hell's going on? You're not like yourself at all! I feel you're not telling me something."

Jack chuckled, "My poor Skye is worried about ol' Jackie's health huh?" he laid down on the couch.

"Of course I'm worried! Next thing I know you could be on the streets pissing yourself! I know you get unpredictable when you drink Jack."

The buck held his paws up, "And what? You gonna lock me inside the closet until I sober up? Is that what you want to do?"

"Don't act stupid, I'm not saying anything like that!" Skye retorted still frowning.

He scoffed, "I'm taking a nap, wake me up when William's home will you?" he said before closing his eyes.

When they were previously together, Jack wasn't a drinker, he only drank at special events and occasionally at a restaurant, but beyond that, he refrained from consuming any as he felt it wasn't necessary to do so. If he needed to relieve stress, he kept a pack of cigarettes nearby.

Skye decided against retaliating him for the time being and merely fumed as she felt something was off about him.

"You weren't like this before you left for the hospital. I wonder..." she looked at the already dozing drunken rabbit on the couch.

She knelt down to his face, " _Are you hurting right now? I saw it in your face."_

A quick sniff confirmed that he was in contact with both Judy and Nick as their scents were all over him, so she knew he talked to both of them.

" _Maybe it's the guilt that's doing it. Jack must've been blaming himself for getting Nick in the hospital, that's probably why he's acting this way right now."_

If Jack was hurting, then Skye would feel a little pain also, it hurt her to see the buck in any difficulty. She could still remember his face when they parted ways, it was the moment she knew Jack wasn't ever going to be the same in some ways.

Skye rolled her eyes, "Wake up!" she said promptly smacking his face.

He grumbled irritably, and tossed around to face away from her.

"Stop acting like a kit and get your tail up! I'm not telling you again!" she said.

"No..." he mumbled.

The vixen tugged at his pants, "Come on, at least sleep on the bed so the others don't see you like this."

"Couldn't give less of a shit Skye."

She smirked, "I'm not leaving until you go upstairs."

Jack sighed, "Carry me sweetheart?"

Skye picked him up, "Oof! You've definitely gained some weight there Jack."

"It's muscles..."

She chuckled, "Whatever you say, _mate_." she told him copying his accent.

Despite him being fairly heavy for a rabbit his size, Skye still had no issue carrying him up the stairs to his bedroom.

She carelessly tossed him down on the bed causing him to groan, "Skye...that hurt."

"Good, that's what you get for being a drunk, lazy ball of fluff." she scoffed him before laying down next to him on the bed.

"Mm...what time is it?" he asked out with his eyes still shut.

"Definitely not the time to be drinking buddy." she told him.

The whisky at this point made him almost completely intoxicated, but not enough for him to completely lose his senses.

"I'm...sorry." he uttered out covering his eyes.

"Oh? Now you're apologizing?" she said raising an eyebrow.

"I was being an arse, now I'm just a shit pile of a bunny right now." he slurred out.

Skye snuggled up next to him, "An adorable shit pile." she added.

"Skye...please refrain from that word." he reminded her.

"My bad. Anyways, lie down here, I'm going to leave you alone okay? Since you want that so bad." she said to him.

Jack grasped her arm, "No, please stay..."

He wrapped his arm around her waist, "Honest, I missed you Skye. Don't leave again."

The arctic vixen could see that right now Jack was in an emotionally vulnerable state and gladly returned to him, "Alright, I'll stay for you."

"You're a sweetheart Skye, you mind if I sneak a kiss?" he suggested now with his eyes open again.

Skye giggled, "Aw Jack, of course you can, it's pretty exhausting to stay mad like this honestly."

The buck went for a quick peck on the lips before flopping back down to the bed.

He sighed, "Ah...thanks, love."

Jack buried himself into her embrace and promptly went back into sleep, leaving Skye to happily hold him in and laid her head on his.

" _Night, Jackie..."_


	26. Chapter 26

_**This chapter contains scenes of violence and sexual themes**_

"Why do we have to go to the store?" Phil complained as he and Emilia were walking down the street to the corner market a few blocks down.

"I wanted to buy some fruit, they didn't have anything inside the house that I liked." she told him.

"I don't see why we have to buy our own food when Jack's loaded, I'm sure he would've been happy enough to buy us something to eat. Hell, I'm sure I could've convinced him to take us out to eat!" the raccoon told her with a sly smile.

"I know that, but it doesn't seem right to take advantage of the fact that he allowed us to stay inside his home. Besides, we can't exactly show up looking like this." she said pointing out the fairly worn down clothing she still wearing from the jail cell.

Phil disregarded her concern, "Nah, we look fine."

"You sure? You have a hole on your arm." she pointed out.

The raccoon sighed, "I'm not exactly swimming in cash right now, this place already looks too expensive to shop at as it is."

As befitting the upper class neighborhood that surrounds it, the market itself consisted of high end clothing and grocery stores as well as trendy cafes and restaurants. The two stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the well groomed crowd that gave them appalled and judging stares, something that Phil heavily disliked.

"I don't like it here Em, these people can't seem to stand a couple of ragtags like us." he grumbled.

"Fine, we'll make it quick if that'll make you feel better." she told him before spotting the grocery store, "Here we go, I'll just get something really quick okay?"

Phil sighed, "Could you make it snappy? I'm not really feeling comfortable here."

The lynx nodded, "Yeah."

She entered inside the store and was instantly overwhelmed at the expensive, modern ambiance that it offered to its customers. Even more than before did she feel out of class compared to the rest of the clientele.

It didn't take long before she felt lost in the many aisles holding items that she never even heard of before, and price tags that made her disinterested in knowing what they were.

"Excuse me? Where are the fruits?" she asked a female coati.

The coati turned to her and visibly recoiled a little, "Uh...are you lost or something?"

"Well yeah, that's why I'm asking you!" Emilia said a little confused by the coati's reaction.

"On the other side of the store..."

The lynx smiled gratefully, "Thanks! Have a nice day!"

The coati continued to grimace a little, "Yeah, you too."

Emilia didn't pay too much attention into the employee's attitude towards and instead focused on deciding what fruits she should bring back to the house.

At the fruit section, again the selection was both overwhelming and quite expensive. There were many fruits that she had never even heard of from countries she didn't know even existed.

She stood in the middle of the section pondering which to buy, " _How do these people not starve? There's so many different choices here I could be picking for hours, but I should pick fast for Phil's sake_."

She sighed, "I'll just buy what I know. Some apples, a pineapple maybe? Definitely some strawberries."

Picking up a basket and carefully making sure not to overspend on her choices she pick out a couple she and Phil could share.

Emilia walked past the makeup aisle, and after taking a quick glance at the mirror she felt a little disheartened how plain she felt compared to the picture perfect crowd that frequented this particular establishment.

" _Damn it, maybe Phil was right, maybe we shouldn't be here..."_

She scooted briskly to the cash register, and waited in line, even the magazines on the rack suggested a lifestyle only the wealthy could hope to afford.

After placing the items on the conveyor belt, she waited a short moment for them to scan.

She arrived at the pay station and smiled at the cashier, "What's up?"

He frowned a little, "That'll be 11.87." he simply stated.

She gulped, " _12? Holy fucking shit, I just got like two apples, the pineapple, and that box of strawberries."_

She pulled out her card and paid for it with the card reader.

"Thank you." the cashier told the lynx dryly.

"Thanks." she said back to him carrying the bag.

Emilia quickly made her way out of the store, "Phil, let's go. Phil?" she called out looking around for the raccoon.

He was no where to be found, she didn't see him in the same spot that he stood at earlier.

"Damn it, where is that stupid raccoon?" she muttered to herself.

Last thing the lynx wanted to be doing was looking for Phil in an area she was unfamiliar with, not to mention the locals taking issue with her being there in the first place.

"Has anyone seen a raccoon around here? This tall?" she asked out.

Most ignored her and a few others glared suspiciously instead, causing her to groan out in frustration, "I hope he brought his phone with him this time..."

She attempted to contact him with her phone but he didn't pick up, causing her to start to worry a little, "Phil, oh god, please be okay."

The lynx began to run around the plaza desperately trying to locate the raccoon but to no avail, which made her worry even more.

"No, no, no! This is bad! Where in the fuck is this dude?"

There was a park next to the plaza, she hoped that maybe the raccoon got bored of standing around and headed over for some fresh air.

"He's just laying down on the grass, napping, that's what he's doing. Calm down Emilia, nothing to get scared about." she told her trying to assuage her fears.

The park wasn't massive, it was the typical block neighborhood sort of park with a few visitors just walking around. But the compact size didn't help her that much as she still looked everywhere hoping to spot Phil, but still he didn't pop up.

"He still hasn't called back. I should call Skye and let her know."

" _I don't know where Jack is! I told you already!"_ a familiar voice yelled out.

"Phil!" she ran over to the source of the voice which was deep inside the forest next to the park.

Once she arrived the lynx gasped and dropped the bag at seeing the bloodied raccoon being held by a brown bear, "Now little trash coon, tell me where Jack is and maybe I'll spare your life." the bear demanded.

"I told you I don't know who you're talking about!" Phil desperately tried to explain to his captor.

"Wrong answer." the bear replied before landed another punch to his face.

Phil coughed out blood, "Please, I don't know!" he said as tears ran down his face.

"Let him go!" Emilia yelled out running towards the bear.

"Hmm? And who's this? A friend, maybe she knows where Jack is."

"No! Leave her alone, she didn't do anything! Emilia, run!" the raccoon yelled to her.

The lynx growled and unsheathed her claws, "I'm not going to it again!"

"Can't do that missy..." a voice behind her spoke out.

Emilia turned quickly around to find a cheetah prowling behind her, "Fuck. And who are you?"

The cheetah grinned, "I'm Mr. None of your business. Our little raccoon pal here just happened to be standing around like an idiot, and I was like...fuck it, we know who he's been working for."

Emilia bared her teeth and her fur bristled at the threat of the larger feline, "Tell your stupid bear to let go of him."

The cheetah rolled his eyes, "You sound even dumber than your little furball you call a boyfriend." he taunted.

The brown bear dangled the raccoon upside down, "This little fucker stinks, I think he pissed himself."

Phil whined out in fear, "Em, I'm sorry."

"Ha! He looks like a little kit that's scared of a monster!" the cheetah said laughing.

"Hey, fuck you!" she yelled at him before swiping at the cheetah.

Her claws barely grazed his face, "Shit! Oh, bad idea bitch..." he said before kneeling down on all fours and releasing a feral growl.

Both Phil and Emilia realized that the cheetah just switched to savage mode, "Em! RUN!" the raccoon cried out.

Suddenly time slowed down as the cheetah made a leap for the lynx, she instinctively dropped down to the ground just barely dodging him.

The cheetah recovered from his landing quickly and readied himself for another pounce at the lynx.

" _Damn it, I can't outrun him, and he's much bigger than me. If I don't do something, I'm a goner!"_

He made another leap towards her, the maniacal grin on his face screamed that he was out for blood. Never in Emilia's life did she see such a horrifying expression.

"Gotcha now little kitty!" he growled with a much deeper tone.

His claws made a quick swipe and was merely inches away from ripping her throat, she fell down to her back and she quickly scooted back into a tree.

She grunted in pain she could feel her back being scratched by the rough ground.

Phil could only watch in horror as the cheetah slowly roamed over to his friend, at that moment he could only close his eyes waiting for the worst.

The lynx herself was desperate to find anything to defend herself with, only growling desperately at the approaching cheetah who licked his sharp teeth in anticipation of a tasty treat.

"Come to papa..." the cheetah said chuckling.

Emilia spotted a large rock on her side, "Back off now, I'm warning you!"

"Absolute fucking stupid girl aren't ya? I'm gonna rip you piece by piece-"

The lynx chucked the rock right at his head, the strength she gave into the throw was enough to make a impact and soon the cheetah released a yelp as the rock struck his nose, causing him to fall down.

"Em!" Phil yelled out before managing to bite the bear's arm.

His captive cried out in pain and immediately released the raccoon, who ran right back towards Emilia.

"Phil! Your face!" she said holding his partly swollen head.

He grunted a little from the stinging, "Never mind that, we need to get out of here!"

The cheetah was almost at this point recovered from the shock he received from the rock, and now was seething in rage.

"Screw it, I'm gonna kill both of you now." he stated with a deadly determined tone.

The bear held his arm and growled, "Sic em!"

Emilia held Phil behind her arms, "Just come and try you sick son of a bitch!"

"My pleasure..." the cheetah replied before crouching down getting ready for the kill.

The raccoon held tightly onto the lynx's arms, "Looks like this is it Em, I-I love you so much." he sputtered out nearly paralyzed in fear.

She gritted her teeth, "Love you too, Phil."

" _Aren't we a little hasty with the confessions now?"_

"Skye!" They both yelled.

The arctic vixen ran towards the group at top speed, "Looks like I got some vermin to fry!"

The cheetah glanced to his side, "Great, another fucking wannabe, I'm gonna-"

Skye immediately took out her pistol and took a shot at his head, there was barely a sound with the silencer attached and after a split second there was an explosion of blood with the cheetah collapsing quickly after.

Emilia and Phil looked in shock and then horror as the blood seeped onto the forest ground, tinting it dark red.

The bear gasped, "Fuck! Jackson!"

Skye pointed the gun at the bear, "Paws up papa bear, I hate to have to waste more bullets on another dumb stooge."

As the bear had no weapon to back him up, he held them up in fear, "Don't shoot me please!"

Phil looked at all the blood pouring out of the cheetah and promptly fainted in Emilia's arms.

"Phil, wake up!" the lynx yelled out to him, trying to shake him awake.

The arctic vixen kept her focus on the bear, "Who sent you? Was it Hunter? Answer me now."

The bear shook a little, "I can't tell you!"

Skye sighed in frustration and fired a shot on his arm, making him yell out in pain.

"Tell me, the next bullet is pointed towards a precious area right now and I'd hate to lose it!" she yelled.

He could see the vixen pointing the gun at his crotch, "No! Wait! It was Hunter! He sent us here because he knew that you were at Jack's place!"

The vixen walked towards the bear and pressed the gun against his groin, "Where. Is. He?" she growled deeply.

"He's at his house, 2405 Madison St! A big mansion!" he cried out.

"Fucking coward." she said before pistol whipping him in the muzzle, "You're taking me to him, otherwise you're kissing your dick goodbye."

"Okay! Fine! I'll do it!" the bear said still shaking in fear.

"Skye! How did you know we were in trouble? And how did you find us?" Emilia asked astonished at the vixen's ability to find them.

Skye turned towards Emilia, "I'll tell you later, take Phil back to Jack's place now. And stay there until I call you." she commanded.

The lynx gulped a little, "Y-Yes, ma'am!"

There were times when Emilia had seen Skye in a foul mood, but this was the first time she saw the vixen as the deadly trained agent that she was.

She huffed as she lifted the raccoon onto her shoulder and began to make the trek back to the rabbit's home.

* * *

"You know...it felt really good." William told Tina as they cuddled together on the bed.

"Really? Better than usual?" she asked resting her head on his chest.

He nodded, "Yeah, there was something that was, I would say, added."

William rubbed the orange cat's back, "It felt meaningful in a way. That sounds corny doesn't it?"

Tina chuckled, "Not really, I think you're right, there was definitely something between us that wasn't there before."

He stretched a little, "Mm...I could be here all night."

"Too bad we have school though." she reminded him.

William groaned, "You're right, fuck. I didn't do my homework today."

"Too bad you didn't bring it here huh?"

He scoffed, "The only work I'm doing tonight is working on you."

Tina laughed as William brushed the fur on her head with his tongue, "Stop it! That tickles!"

"God, it feels so good whenever I'm here with you. We know what we both want in life, we do some pretty fun things together, and the sex is honestly awesome."

She felt his stomach with her paw, "Makes you wonder why we didn't try to be a couple earlier huh?"

He thought on it, "Yeah. Maybe I didn't feel ready at the time, I guess I thought since I was going to be an agent that I shouldn't bother with forming relationships during my time at the academy. But now, I realize that I don't need to forgo other parts of life just to be an agent, I can do other things too."

He took a quick glance at his phone, "It's been half an hour? Wow, time files when you're having fun huh?"

"Lots of fun. Too bad we can't do this more often." she mused.

William rolled his eyes, "My dad wouldn't like me bringing you to my room while he's there. It seems these days he at home more often than not, which is nice and all but it honestly gets overbearing."

Tina moved her eyes up to him, "Really? What do you mean?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. He's been treating me like I'm still a kitten, but I'm not, I just had sex with you for fox's sake. I'm an adult, and I feel he thinks I'm still not ready to be on my own."

Tina tsked, "My parents are the same, they keep saying that I'm over my head, that drawing isn't going get me a stable career or make a great family."

"I guess most parents are like that, they don't want their kids to leave the nest and they rationalize that we are still little to them." He attempted to explain to her.

"Maybe we'll be like that when we're older huh?" she said smiling.

"If I had kids, I wouldn't hold them back from trying to follow their own dreams, you know?"

Tina nodded, "Me too, I don't want my kids to doubt themselves like my parents made me."

The subject of their conversation hit him, "We're talking about having kids, we're not even of age to marry." he said before laughing.

Tina laughed with him and sat up, "It does sound kind of fast to be talking about kids right now."

"Dad would kill me if we had one especially this young."

"No, _my_ Dad would get to you first if he found out. I mean, he thinks we're still just friends." she told William.

"Oh yeah, I wouldn't count on him being friendly if he found out I was fucking his daughter."

He grinned, "Speaking of which, I'm thinking of going another round right now." he said as he hugged her from behind.

"Damn William, you can't control yourself?" she said but allowed him to have his way with her.

"You know me, I'm not exactly known for self-control." he joked.

"We should make it quick, I don't know when my parents will be back." she said with concern.

"I can make time." He growled in her ear before moving to her side of the bed on top of her.

She shuddered as she felt his hips meeting with hers, "Um, we seriously doing it without you wearing anything?"

"I can pull out." he assured her as he positioned himself.

"I'm not letting you spill anything on my sheets." she deadpanned.

"I only brought one with me though..."

He already was beginning to buck his hips as he wanted to get straight into the action.

"W-William..."

William groaned, "I'm already in though, can't we just do it?"

"It'll be hard to explain why there are stains on my sheet when I'm doing laundry." she said.

He huffed, "Fine, whatever..." he rolled off her, "I'm still horny as hell though."

"And what do you want me to do about it?" she said holding out her paws.

William coyly smiled, "Well, if you use your mouth..."

"Not happening William."

He sighed and fell back down to the bed, "Alright, sorry for asking."

"It is really that bad to being able to do it without a condom?" she asked.

"I mean no, but for that one second I was inside you, I could immediately tell a difference in how...sensitive it felt." he commented frankly towards her.

"Being a male must kind of suck, you're stuck with something that constantly tells you that you must sleep with any girl you find." she empathized.

He chuckled, "Maybe. Whatever, I'll think of you when I'm in my room later. Which in this case I should be getting back to anyways, I'm sure my Dad wouldn't appreciate me being gone too long."

Tina pouted, "Aw, but it was nice with you here."

William smiled at her, "I'm not going away forever, we'll see each other tomorrow anyways." he reminded her.

"Good point. Alright, I guess this is goodbye then."

They gave each other a hearty kiss for a goodbye, and William hopped off the bed.

Tina looked down and snickered, "And goodbye to your little friend too."

He gave a sarcastically offended expression, "Little? Why don't you give it a kiss too while you're at it?"

"You're not slick William." she said still smiling.

He laughed as he put his clothing back on, "Fair enough. See you later Tina."

"See ya."

* * *

" _There is it Skye. Our ticket to the jackpot is waiting in that house."_

 _"We just nab this guy and we'll be the talk of the entire ZBI. We'll be treated with the respect that we deserve."_

...

 _"What the fuck was that Skye? We were supposed to apprehend him, not kill him!"_

 _"I'm sorry Jack, but it had to be done."_

 _"Had to be done? This isn't some kind of revenge mission, you let your own personal feelings fail the mission!"_

 _"..."_

 _"Skye? Hey! Where are you going?"_

 _"Sorry Jack, I can't do it anymore...we're done."_

 _"What? Skye wait, come back! Skye!"_

Jack sputtered awake, "W-What? My head..." he realized that he was back on his own bed, the smell confirmed that Skye was here recently, but now she was gone.

He remembered everything right up until him passing out on the bed, "Great, once again I made an ass of myself in front of her."

He looked at his watch, "It's starting to get late, William should be here soon. Better at least clean myself up."

The buck trudged over to the bathroom, and it was obvious he was drinking earlier as his fur was a little disheveled especially on his head, and his eyes were bloodshot.

" _The hangover isn't horrible at least..._ "

He grabbed some mouthwash and rinsed out the taste of whisky out of his mouth. Then he grabbed the brush and carefully combed his fur to make it smooth and presentable again.

" _There, back to being somewhat decent. At least William hopefully won't see the drunk, downtrodden rabbit that I really am_."

He debated taking a shower as well to fully cleanse himself, but decided that it would take too long and instead applied a little cologne to further mask any smell of whisky.

As he stepped out of the bathroom he realized that it was quiet, meaning that there was no one besides him inside the house.

" _Bloody hell, where did everyone go?"_

"Hello? Anyone?" he called out.

The lack of a response made him feel a little unsettled, "Damn it, where in the hell are they?"

He sighed, "How many phone calls is it going to take...screw it, it's my home, they can do fuck all."

For Jack, it was the first time in a while that he was by himself in the house, whenever he was in a normal working schedule he would come home and his son would already be there either in his room or in the living room.

Without William or Skye, he felt quite lonely and loneliness was the one feeling he may have hated the most.

"I should call William, see if he's coming home right now." he told himself rationalizing a call to anyone.

To his relief his son did pick up, " _What's up Dad?"_

Jack smiled a little, "You heading home yeah?"

 _"Yeah Dad, I'm driving right now."_

"Great, brilliant. Please drive safely now, I love you."

" _Jeez, you're acting even more protective than usual. I'm fine alright?"_ William assured his father.

"It's been only an hour though, is everything alright?"

" _Dad, I gotta go, I'm still not exactly comfortable driving and talking on the phone at the same time."_

"Oh! Of course, silly me to ask such things, love you, see you."

 _"...love you too, bye."_

William hung up, leaving Jack standing in the middle of the house by himself again.

The rabbit entertained some ideas, "Mm...perhaps I should tidy the place up a little, heaven knows with the five of us here it wouldn't be a bad idea."

He walked to the closet in the hallway and peeked around, "Now let's see...a duster? Some wood polish, glass cleaner..."

Jack liked to keep things neat and proper, a trait he picked up during his training as one of the goals he set for himself was to portray an image of professionalism, and cleanliness was a key factor in maintaining that image.

" _Hopefully the others won't mind me being a busy bunny and moving around the house_."

He collected some rubber gloves from the kitchen and set to work with the duster on the wooden furniture, humming to himself as he removed dust that has been there for quite some time.

" _This must William's fur, he never bothers to properly remove his shed..."_

The buck remembered the first time William started to shed his coat in his house, he chuckled to himself as he recalled ordering the kitten to pick up any clump that he happened to find, even after all these years it seemed his son still didn't care much.

Jack admitted to himself that it was quite therapeutic to give some time to himself and clean his surroundings, it gave him a feeling of that he was in control of his own life.

Suddenly the front door swung open, "JACK!" Emilia yelled out.

"Bloody hell! Almost gave me a fucking heart attack!" he said clutching his chest.

He looked towards the lynx and saw that she was carrying a unconscious and bloody Phil in her arms, "Fuck me, not this again, what have you two been up to?" he said running over to them.

"It wasn't his fault! He got ambushed by these two guys and they kept asking him where you live!" she explained.

The buck frowned, "So I see, where's Skye?"

"She took one of them to find out where Hunter is."

He looked at the lynx in shock, "She what? For God's sake, why does she keep doing these asinine things by herself! And William still isn't home..."

The stress was getting to him, he took a deep breath, "I'm following her." he told Emilia.

"What? What about Phil?" she said.

"He'll be fine, clean up his wounds and place him on the bed until he awakens." he instructed her before running up to his room.

After a moment he returned brandishing his pistol, "When William returns, tell him I went out for a walk. Last thing I need is for him to want to follow me and Skye."

"Jack don't, what if something happens to you?"

The buck gave her an assertive smile, "It's part of my job, I'm used to it. Take care of Phil." he said.

"How are you even going to find Skye?" the lynx questioned.

Jack donned his sunglasses, "I'm an agent, let's just say I have resources for that specific ability."

 _ **Bit of a longer chapter huh? Anyways, thanks for reading.**_


	27. Update

**Since we've come so far, I guess I'll share my thoughts...from where the story is going, it's going to get more Jack-centric because it boils down to basically him being the main character of the story. Also, I feel that my interpretation of Jack's character has slowly been diverging from the mainstream idea of him, I think this Jack has been getting too soft, so I'm thinking of 'hardening' him back up, which means the story will get quite a bit darker for a few chapters. I guess my fear is that I'll self-correct too much and I'll somehow make Jack too heartless and cold, which is** **not** **what I'm going for. But both Skye and Jack in this story are professional agents, which means that they both are subject to situations that will lead to hard decisions.**

 **To be honest, I feel it will be difficult to create a balanced character for Jack; he's kind of ambiguous since he wasn't an actual character in the movie, so beyond the 'British Agent' trope that he was meant to be, there isn't too much else to build up on. But I will say it gave me some liberty to change his character up a little bit, namely making him an adoptive father. I don't know exactly how long this story overall will be, but it's not going to end anytime soon; I'm going to try to make the story less 'cluttered' and more streamlined, basically getting right to the action instead of building up side stories so that it won't feel so bloated.**

 **So that's what I'm at right now as of this writing, please realize that if you're reading this after the story is complete is that I may have changed my mind and some of what I say in this 'chapter' may not have actually happened.**

 **Anyways, thank you so much for taking the time and effort to read my story, never imagined I would get so far to be honest, but barring circumstances beyond my control I'm going to keep working on this project until the end. So I hope you'll continue to read and enjoy as I keep adding onto this fan fic. Please leave a comment about what you think about my ideas and what you think of the story so far, thank you! :)**


	28. Chapter 27

_**This is going to be a pretty long chapter focusing solely on Jack for now, some violence for this one.**_

" _Let's see here...input code X356DJV10...sim card signature...MAC address...got it!"_

Jack successfully was able to maintain a live link to Skye's phone location thanks to hacking into the radio antenna receivers and then using parts of the web network to connect to her phone's signature. He implanted the data onto the Carrot Maps app and she now appeared as a separate dot on the map along with his own.

" _Looks like she's in a car judging how fast the dot is moving. I'm surprised she even bothered to bring her phone with her in the first place, perhaps she anticipated me trying to follow her. What a sweetheart_."

Without a car, Jack was forced to call for some help, "Hello, Mr. Imani?"

" _Agent Savage? Something wrong, what's up?"_

The rabbit chuckled a little, "Oh, I just need a lift. If you would be so kind, I'm following a target and I preferred not to bring my own vehicle. You understand, right?"

" _Yeah of course, I have to say it's been a while since you called for transport."_

"Mm, that. I've been busy doing paperwork, not much to do there that required your assistance you know? Besides, you're a designated driver of sorts for the ZBI, I trust you'll arrive quickly correct?" he said looking down the street.

" _You got it...you're on Belmont Street right?"_

"How'd you guess?" Jack questioned.

" _I can see you from my house."_

The buck looked around a little confused, "What? Guess I've been walking for a while."

He heard a door open across the street, revealing a smiling zebra waving at him, "Jack!"

Jack looked at his phone and then at the zebra still confused, "Uh...Mr. Imani?"

The zebra nodded, "Yeah! Come on in!"

Jack quickly ran over to Imani's house, "You live here?" he asked a little startled.

"You didn't know that?" Imani asked raising an eyebrow.

"I guess not, anyways good to see you chap, I need some wheels."

"Sure, I was just having dinner with my family right now."

The buck peered over him and spotted his family at the table, and awkwardly waved, "Evening."

Imani's wife recognized him, "Evening Mr. Savage, good to see you looking well, how's your son?"

"Good. Thanks for asking." he replied in his typical polite manner.

"So, you need transport huh? Must be serious if you can't bring your own vehicle." The zebra said leaning against the doorway.

Jack gave a wry smile, "Well, more like my car isn't here."

"Hmm?"

The buck sighed, "My son's borrowing it, and the situation that required my attention came at rather short notice you see." he explained.

Mr. Imani smirked, "The struggles of having a child who can drive huh? My eldest son is getting pretty close to that age as well."

Jack nodded, "I agree. Now, about you taking me."

"You sure you don't want to just borrow it?"

The buck was somewhat surprised by his question, "Really? You'd let me do that?"

"Sure, it's not even my car, it's the agency's. I just bring it home because it's nice have an extra set of wheels, for example when you show up." he explained shrugging.

The zebra collected the keys in a bowl, "Careful not to scratch the paint, I do like to take care of it."

Jack grabbed them from Imani, "Can't make any promises mate."

Imani laughed a little, "I know. Just a suggestion, now go do what you gotta do."

"Right. Car's in the garage I presume?" he asked cracking his knuckles.

The zebra nodded, "Yup. Let me get the door open for ya. Anyways, hope you can drive, the seat can only adjust so much you know?"

"I'll manage thank you."

Compared to Jack's personal vehicle, this car was quite a bit older; clearly it was used for several years to take agents from point A to point B with no fuss. It wasn't at all terrible, but Jack did find himself missing the heating steering wheel his car had.

 _"Should've considered the difficulty of fussing with my phone whilst I'm driving. Hopefully the police don't pull me over."_ he thought to himself as he kept glancing at the phone's screen which he mounted on the instrument panel.

" _Still ongoing aren't you Skye? Where in the bloody hell are you heading to?"_

The dot indicated that Skye was on a highway heading out of Zootopia proper and into the mountain ranges nearby, Jack wasn't too familiar with the area itself, but he did know of the top of his head that some of the wealthiest Zootopians resided there, thanks to his knowledge from a reality show he watched.

" _Hmm, perhaps I've become a proper Zootopian, using reality shows to guide me..."_ he mused as he entered the same highway that Skye was on.

There was some traffic, but to Jack's relief it wasn't horrific, and he was able to progress in a timely manner, soon the skyline of Zootopia was far behind him and between him and the mountain range the freeway went through was ever decreasing density of development on either side of the freeway.

After nearly half an hour of driving, Skye finally pulled off the freeway and drove off in a street instead.

" _Ten minutes behind, I hope that isn't too much time to find out what the hell was going on. Hopefully Skye isn't too brash in her actions."_ Jack reckoned as he followed the same direction she was heading in.

When Jack exited the freeway and followed down the same street took, he realized just how far he was away from the city when it was mostly forest with the occasional house and store along the street.

The dot finally stopped next to the street, and the rabbit speculated that it was the destination she was looking for.

He soon too arrived at the destination, he frowned as he saw the forced open gate which showed a gravel road going further down.

" _Quite the entrance you made there. I feel that this isn't going to go as straightforward as I hoped."_

He continued to drive down the road, following the tracks she had made before, and soon he found himself at another gate, this one seemed to have been guarded at one point, but now it seemed unmanned.

Jack exited the vehicle and grabbed his pistol, "Well well, lead me to what you were looking for Skye..."

He aimed his gun at the post, and walked slowly towards it, he then sighed seeing blood staining inside, but no body.

"Tidy as always..." he muttered to himself.

A mansion appeared shortly after he started walking again, the front door remained closed, so the buck assumed that the vixen entered in another way.

It was already almost nighttime, and as a result since the mansion was surrounded by forest it was almost impossible for Jack to see the area clearly, making him wish he had brought along some night vision goggles.

" _People are always surprised at my house's size, they should take a look at this..."_

The mansion was three stories high, it looked to have been build many years ago as it had the old world architecture of stone and wood similar to the old structures Jack was familiar back in the UK.

The buck didn't bring much with him to pull off infiltration of the place, as he scouted around the area as quietly as he could he spotted an armed guard strolling around the backyard, it seemed Skye was able to at least keep the attention away from herself for the meanwhile.

He sighed, " _So much for keeping it clean. These poor fellows just needed a job...no, they knew what they signed up for."_

Although he wasn't unwilling to kill in order to make progress, he knew it would be better to keep a low profile, he needed to find out if Skye was still in the area or not.

Suddenly he spotted an open basement window on the side, " _Nice, I'm guessing our previous guest had similar intentions."_

He tip-toed over to the opening, it was easily large enough for him to enter without trouble, but the inside was dark, so he needed to be careful about landing in order not to make noise.

Once he poked through the opening, he dangled off the edge in order to make as soft a landing as he could; thanks to his relatively low weight it was easy for him to do so. From he could guess using the limited light there was, Jack speculated that he was in the wine cellar.

" _Alright, it would be safe to guess Hunter will be upstairs...if he's still here."_

There was no light switch so he felt his way around the room, he could feel the walls containing various bottles and crates, and after a while he could feel a hollow part of the wall, and after some searching he was able to confirm it was a door.

As the door was unlocked he slowly turned the knob and cracked the door open, he did a quick sniff and there was no scent of other animals in the other side to alert him, so he continued on into the hallway.

" _Come on now, there must be something to light up the way...wait, this must be it!"_

He felt a light switch and upon flipping it up, light flooded the hallway, revealing a startlingly modern appearance.

" _Someone has a taste for remodeling, this place is going to be full of surprises isn't it?"_ the buck mused as he walked slowly down the hallway.

He could hear some muffled voices from upstairs, " _There's been a breach, shut down the perimeter at once!"_

" _Yes, sir!"_

Jack groaned, "Fuck me...it was nice while it lasted."

He drew out his gun and dashed down the hallway towards the stairs at the end, he knew that he was going to meet resistance at the other side, but he was ready.

After running up the stairs he spotted two guards, both wolves standing at the hallway.

One of them saw the buck and growled, "Intruder!"

Jack frowned, "Sorry boys, but I'm looking for someone else at the moment, would you be so kind as to point me towards Hunter and make it snappy." he politely demanded.

The grey wolf snarled, "I don't take orders from an unwanted guest."

"Unfortunate..."

One of them leaped at the buck, but he quickly aimed for his head and delivered a clean shot through his forehead, instantly killing him.

Jack aimed at the other guard, "Next." he calmly stated.

"Damn!" he pressed a button on his walkie talkie, "Code 2! I repeat, Code 2-"

The guard was silenced by a bullet to his throat.

"Poor form, I was aiming for the head for a mercy kill. But I've got other priorities for now, mate." he said walking past the choking wolf.

There were more yells from a distance, he knew right there that Skye was also making her way through the mansion. He also knew he had to be quick.

The buck ran towards the yelling where he knew Skye was going to be at, it was immediately apparent that the vixen wasn't going easy on them as well.

"Now where are you headed Skye? Show me." he said to himself.

He wasn't surprised to see more dead guards strewn across the floor, " _Follow the trail of bodies it seems like."_

Without more guards bothering him, he made quick progress through the rest of the building, it seemed that he was running for at least a minute before the trail went cold.

" _Shite, now what?"_ Jack thought in frustration, he found himself back to searching around the area.

One room that caught his fancy was a makeshift laboratory that was set up in what looked to be formerly a bedroom. Jack entered the room and upon closer inspection he spotted something quite interesting, "Hmm...a green powder? I can only speculate the purpose of this, no doubt it's something for the junkie."

There was some papers strewn about, one that caught his eye was a list of ingredients for the powder, "Nighthowler, Persimmon, cactus leaf, Roaring Sugar?"

He squinted his eyes closer at the paper, " _Wasn't this what Phil mentioned earlier_?"

He set it down, " _I need to find Skye, now_."

The buck exited the room, "Now if I were a betting rabbit, top floor is where I'm heading."

Despite his need to hurry, the buck knew better than to dash at any random direction and risk running into something he couldn't handle, so he chose instead to study the layout of the mansion a little more closely in order to get a sense of where everything was.

"Where is the next flight of stairs? This can't be the top already." he told himself as he continued to check around the inside of the mansion looking for anything that may help him find Skye and Hunter.

Upon opening the large door, he found himself inside a massive room that was filled with various sculptures and paintings, he spotted some blood on the floor, little splotches that left a trail through the room.

" _Keep following the trail Jack, you should be almost there_."

The smell of blood continued to gain strength as he ran down the corridor towards a wall, " _Looks like a false wall...where is the switch?"_

He searched around for any potential object, he checked behind the paintings, grasped the sculptures and knocked on various sections of the walls. He quickly became frustrated when he couldn't locate the hidden switch for the wall, " _What a bother. Hmm?"_

Jack spotted a loose tile on the floor, and upon lifting it was a blank square button, " _Clever girl aren't ya? I'm almost there Skye."_

As soon as he pressed the button, the wall creaked and slowly rotated, revealing a dark hallway behind it.

He aimed his gun down the hallway and took a deep breath, ready for any potential conflict.

" _Here we go."_

The buck slowly made his way down the hallway, it was dark enough inside that he could barely make out the outline of the walls, and found himself bumping a few times along the side as he felt his way through.

Jack could barely make out the sounds of other people all the way down the long hallway, and braced himself accordingly for whatever was next. His training may have honed in his abilities as well as instilling an air of high competence, but at his core he knew that he was going to step out of his comfort zone.

Suddenly it went quiet, which greatly disturbed the buck, and helped to create a sense of paranoia at what was next.

He stopped at the end of the hallway, which he could feel was another door, whatever was at the other side was waiting for him.

Jack grabbed the knob, turned it, and swung the door wide open, "Paws up! Agent Savage of the ZBI!" he yelled out.

What waited on the other side surprised him, "Evening Jack." Hunter merely stated unfazed lying on a large bed.

Jack aimed his gun at him, "Alright, playtime's over. Step out of the bed." he commanded with a stern expression.

"Aw, but aren't you going to stay? My other guest has been waiting for you." Hunter pouted.

"Skye."

The ferret pointed towards the floor on his bedside.

Jack gasped and dropped his gun in shock, "Skye!"

The vixen was unconscious lying on the floor, looking quite ruffled from the fight.

Hunter groaned, "Unfortunately it seemed she decided to turn against me, but the benefit is that she brought you to me. And that's all I wanted."

The door slammed behind Jack and automatically locked, the buck desperately tried to turn the lock to no avail.

"It's you and me now Jack. There's no getting out." he explained.

The buck frowned at the ferret as he picked up his gun, "Are you mental? I have a _gun_ , and you do not."

"Correct. However, if you kill me, it'll release a signal from my wristband that I am deceased, and the entire mansion will be destroyed by explosives." Hunter explained holding up his arm.

"Fuck." Jack swore gritting his teeth.

Hunter nodded, "Indeed. Now, drop the weapon and let's discuss this like grown-ups shall we?"

The buck grunted and reluctantly did as told.

"Good. Now then, what is it you want?" the ferret asked crossing his arms.

"I came here because of Skye. I'll admit I didn't fully expect to run into you." Jack said.

"Same. But again I'm grateful you're here anyways, now I can deliver my grievances in person."

Jack sighed, "About your brother I take it?"

The ferret clenched his fists, "Precisely."

"I can only offer words of condolences, which I gather you're not going to accept." the buck said next.

"Not until I have my teeth baring down on your neck as you beg for mercy." Hunter growled.

Jack whistled, "Tough talk from a mite weasel."

The ferret snarling revealing his sharp canines, "You seem a bit touched, ferrets _hunt_ bunnies, remember?"

"Well aware. On with it then, I'll deliver you moving or not to the ZBI, and then I'll take Skye back home so we can have a peaceful dinner with my family." Jack said rolling up his sleeves.

Hunter flew out of the bed, and immediately pounced on the rabbit, knocking him down onto the floor.

"I'm going to enjoy watching you bleed Jack." he hissed while trying to grasp at his throat.

The buck grunted as he pressed his paws on the ferret's face, "I'm afraid I'm not on the menu old chap!"

Jack threw the ferret off and immediately stood back up, sighing as he dusted off his shirt, "If I can't kill you, I'll just knock you down a few pegs down."

Hunter slammed his fist on the floor, "Over my dead body!"

The ferret dove under his bed and grabbed a knife, "Come on then, show me what this little bunny's got!"

Jack entered a defensive stance, glancing momentarily at the unconscious vixen behind the ferret, "As my son would say, I'm gonna drop you."

The ferret pointed the knife at his opponent, "Just like back in the cold hard streets huh?"

Jack's nose twitched, "Something like that."

Hunter dashed towards the buck and made a quick jab, it was clear that the ferret had experience with the weapon as he made a clean cut on the side of Jack's arm.

The buck yelped and hopped back, "Bloody skilled with the shank aren't ya?"

Hunter continued to seethe, "I'm gonna cut you up into tiny chunks."

The ferret made another swing at the buck, but Jack managed to deftly dodge the attack and grab his arm, "Gotta be faster than that to catch this rabbit!" he yelled before pulling the ferret towards the wall.

Hunter gasped as Jack slammed him on the wall, knocking some wind out of his chest, "Ack! Fucking damn it!"

"Hurts doesn't it?" Jack told him, "Now, are you going to surrender?"

"Fuck off." he replied before slamming his head into Jack's muzzle.

In a daze the rabbit stumbled backwards and nearly fell as he regained his bearings, touching his nose he could see some blood on his fingers, "I see how it is. No more being proper, now it's time to get it done." he said cracking his neck.

Hunter yelled out as he made another run at the rabbit making multiple slashes towards Jack, who was able to dodge most of them except for taking a hit on his shoulder and another barely grazing his cheek.

"Going to take more than that to bring me down mate, my body's full of scars from previous knife fights."

The ferret made a lunge for the buck, but Jack was able to move around his attack but deliver a punch right to his head, knocking the ferret off his feet.

"You're an absolute cunt, acting all like you've done nothing wrong. That you're some kind of hero, but you're not!" he cried out.

"And you're any better? Seems you've been busy getting comfy with predator supremacists, not exactly a gesture of goodwill." Jack retorted.

His statement threw the ferret into a rage, "Enough! I won't stop until I hear the bones in your neck snap, it will the most satisfying sound I'll ever hear!"

The look in Hunter's eyes made it clear to Jack that he wasn't kidding around, "I won't say anymore then. Seems you can't be reasoned with."

Jack went on the offensive this time, he made a quick dash towards Hunter, who pointed the knife in his direction.

"Think fast." Jack merely stated before jumping and landing a swift kick into the ferret's chest.

The ferret cried and heaved as his grip on the knife slipped, causing it to fall to the floor.

"Quit while you're ahead, you're clearly not up to par to some 'little bunny'." Jack taunted.

Hunter coughed and wiped his mouth, "As if I'm going to lose to some puff..."

Jack's stooped down to the ferret and grabbed his neck, "And? I thought you were a predator, seems to me you're just another scavenger."

Calling any predator a scavenger was perhaps the most insulting word, especially from a prey, and _especially_ from Jack.

Hunter could feel the buck's grip tightening on his throat, "I thought you weren't going to kill me." he said struggling to breath.

Jack's expression remained stoic, "Yeah, funny how that works huh?"

"Bastard. You're just a heartless killer...a mangy prey!" The ferret choked out before grabbing a box from the floor and smashing it onto Jack's face.

The rabbit grunted as he let go of the ferret, who filled his empty lungs back up.

"I'm done. It seems I underestimated what a little bunny could do." Hunter said before spitting on the floor.

"In case you didn't notice, we are of similar size." Jack pointed out.

The ferret smiled mischievously, "Next time, I'll be prepared. For now, I'm going to have to take a rain check."

Hunter tapped his wristband, and there was a loud beep from it, "You've got a minute to scram Jackie, or else I'm afraid you'll be _very_ well-done."

Before the buck could stop him the ferret rushed with a limp through the open glass door and jumped off the porch.

"Fuck! That slippery bastard!" he yelled to himself.

He ran over to Skye and struggled to pick her up, grunting he stood up and went the same way as Hunter did.

At the porch he looked down, there was some bushes, but it was a three story drop, a broken leg was likely especially with Skye.

" _Sorry for the harsh treatment dearie..."_

He took a quick deep breath and made the leap of faith.

The fall itself ignited every fiber in his being, all bracing his body for the inevitable impact that he would face.

It was a fairly short fall, and Jack landed along with Skye on the bushes, which were thick enough to break their falls, which helped to reduce the potential impact.

Still the landing took a toll on his legs and pain shot up from them, but despite the intensity of it, Jack knew he had no time to try to alleviate it, he grabbed Skye and as fast as he could dragged her behind him towards through the backyard and into the forest ahead.

The rabbit heard a faint click and he dropped him and the vixen down to the ground, at the same time one part of the mansion was blown to pieces by a massive explosion. The shock wave lashed both of them, and it popped Jack's ears, causing him to temporarily lose hearing.

He looked back and saw the mansion gradually devolving to flames, "Ah, that's a mess..."

The pain in his legs was too much for him and he remained flat on the ground wincing as he tried his best to recover from the jump.

Jack couldn't find any signs of where the ferret and swore profusely inside his head that he had let the suspect escape.

He then turned his attention towards the arctic vixen who was still unconscious, there was no obvious signs of trauma, Jack suspected that maybe Hunter immobilized her with a dart.

He held her paw and hung his head down, " _Thank you, for being safe._ _"_


	29. Chapter 28

_**And now, for William...no violence, but just read this one.**_

William pulled up to the driveway, fully expecting either a drunk Jack laying on the couch or his bed, or a sober lovey-dovey Jack that would hug him to death. He didn't know which sounded worse.

He opened the front door and only heard Emilia in the guest room talking to he guessed Phil.

He sighed, "Dad? I'm home! The car's fine!"

Emilia opened the door upstairs and ran down the stairs, "Oh! William, nice to see you here!" she said to him a little awkwardly.

The cat noticed her nervous expression, "Uh? Did something happen?" he asked quite confused.

"No! Of course not! I was just happy to see you, that's all, heh..." she stuttered at the end.

William scratched his nose, "Er, okay? I'm going to tell Dad I'm here, I assume he's in his room right?"

"Uh, about that..."

The lynx twiddled her thumbs and looked away, "He um, went for a walk."

"A walk? After he's been drinking? He can't handle his liquor well Emilia!" he informed her a little agitated.

"He looked fine, he said he just needed to clear his head." she said trying to calm the teen down.

William scoffed, "Whatever, I'm calling him."

Emilia wanted to stop the cat but decided it may be not the best decision to try.

To William's relief, Jack did pick up, " _I'm busy right now William. Please call back later_." he stated to him.

"Busy? Aren't you just out for a walk?" the cat questioned his father.

Jack groaned, " _I'm taking a_ long _walk alright? Don't start fretting over me alright?"_

"What? Dad, this isn't really you, you don't take walks." his son countered with suspicion.

" _What part of me taking a walk seems unbelievable to you?"_

The two haven't had a walk in many years, when Jack would take his son to the park to enjoy a nice, sunny day. But as William got older he felt it wasn't fun or enjoyable to just be strolling around with his father.

"If it's about me taking the car, I'm back home alright? You can come back now." William explained.

" _Without a scratch?"_

William chuckled, "Pristine."

" _Good, I'm proud of you, you certainly seem to be getting more responsible."_ Jack congratulated his son.

The cat made out a hint of pain in his father's voice, "You doing okay Dad? You sounded like you pulled something."

" _Oh, just tired from the walking I've been doing, it was quite vigorous to be honest."_

William sat down on the couch, "Glad to hear your exercising again, if you kept putting it off you would've been quite a chubby rabbit. Who knows, maybe I might get a little hungry, nothing else to eat." he joked.

Jack laughed, " _Perhaps. I would object to my own son partaking in chewing on my overweight corpse, I'll keep that in mind as I try to keep in shape eh?"_

His son also laughed, "Oh yeah, that'll be really awkward huh? The police finding out that I decided that rabbit sounded good tonight, and I engaged in a little patricide."

To the cat it was a simple quip, but to Jack it had other connotations.

"... _maybe we can tone that down a little?"_

William realized he may have offended his father by going too far, "Oh! Sorry, sorry! Didn't mean to get dark right there."

" _It's fine, you're a good son alright? I know you didn't mean harm..."_

The cat could hear his father huff, "Dad? Are you sure you're okay? I could come and pick you up if you want."

" _No, thank you for asking, but I can manage fine. I'll be home soon alright?"_

His son nodded, "Yeah. I'll be waiting here then."

" _Please do. Um, let Emilia know I'm doing fine alright? Love you."_

William blushed a little, "Yeah, l-love you too. Bye."

" _Stay safe, bye."_ Jack said before hanging up.

The cat put down his phone and exhaled, "Well, nothing to do now except take a shower I guess."

Emilia didn't realize it before, but the cat did smell different than before he left. She sniffed the air around him, "Is that...perfume?"

William suddenly became defensive, "It's nothing! Just went through a store that sold them alright?"

"I also smell another person on you..."

It clicked in her head where she smelled it before and smirked at him, "You've been busy with another girl haven't you?"

The cat held his paws together, "Please don't tell Dad, he'll skin me alive if he found out that I lied to him!"

She crossed her arms, "Alright. 5 bucks and I'll keep my mouth shut."

He growled a little, "Sneaky, fine you'll get your 5 bucks soon."

"Now would be preferable." she said pointing at her non-existent watch.

" _Losing a 5? Or risk getting my ass whooped by Dad? God fucking damn it..."_

He pulled out his wallet and handed her the bill, "Here. I can't believe you would take advantage of me like this."

She placed the money in her pocket, "It's a hustle. Besides, I thought you guys were Catholic or something. Doesn't that mean you're committing a sin since you slept with someone out of marriage?" she teased.

"So what? I was being safe! Besides, no one is going to know or care anyways."

The bobcat chuckled, "I'll know. But hey, kids will be kids right? I won't judge since I'm not a priest."

"I haven't talked to a priest for a long time." William admitted.

The lynx was a little surprised, "Really? I kind of got the impression you guys were, you know, religious."

"Dad's more of the religious type, less so as he got older, but sometimes I would see him pray on the bed. Begging for forgiveness and stuff like that." William nonchalantly explained.

"Must be tough, being an agent that's forced to kill, but also having to 'please' God or whatever you guys do." Emilia said.

"I know our religion isn't exactly common, especially in Zootopia, but in a way it's important to Dad." William said smiling a little.

"Your old family wasn't religious?"

The cat shook his head, "Nope. I didn't grow up believing in anything besides those fairy tales my Mom used to tell me before bedtime."

"So Jack made you convert to his religion?"

William shrugged, "Not really convert, more like, I'm just part of the Savage family, and all of them are Catholic."

"Oh. You get teased about it?" she asked next wondering about his current status.

"When I was younger, mostly just puns though. Except that one time Dad and I were cursed out by some guy who really disliked Catholic people."

Emilia thought on it, "Now that I'm thinking about it, a lot of Zootopians are adherent towards the school of Karma. That's at least where the 'Oh, Karma' came from."

He nodded, "Yeah. I know that."

"Is Jack strict?" she questioned him next, "If you don't mind me asking?"

William sighed and laid back on the couch, "I mean, if he wants to. These days he's getting more mellow about raising me so now he's kind of chill, except apparently when it comes to sleeping with other girls."

"Heh, I thought him being British would mean something. But he acts like any concerned father in Zootopia would at least."

The cat flopped down on the couch, "I gotta go to school tomorrow..."

"Education is important, you know." Emilia pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess."

William frowned, "You know, I guess I trust you enough to tell you this."

Emilia's ear sprung up in curiosity, "Hmm? What's up?"

It took a moment for the cat to decide what to say, "I think Jack is hiding something from me. I can't describe it, but there are moments when I ask about my parents or when I talk about them that he seems to get kind of upset."

"Is that right?"

William looked down, "He told me that I needed to properly grieve and then move on. And he's right, he's my Dad now and I feel like he cares for me like any other parent would, but sometimes I wonder...why did he exactly adopt me?"

The lynx could pick up on his worries, "Don't be like that William, I'm sure he wanted to have you as his kid, and that's why he took you in." she said trying to console him.

"I asked about it once before, about why he adopted me. I don't know if I said anything wrong, but he got angry at me. He said to drop the question immediately and go to my room." he recalled with a tinge of sadness.

"Damn, that's harsh. It does sound kind of fishy when I think about it." she said now wondering Jack's motive as well.

"Funny enough, he came up to my room later on and he seemed really sad, almost like he was going to cry. He hugged me really hard and kept saying he was sorry."

Emilia chuckled, "He really does care about you. Jack is just as soft as any rabbit huh?"

"I wouldn't say soft, more like he's really apologetic about things. Maybe it's a British thing, they do tend to apologize a lot for anything." William pointed out.

"Oh yeah, since Jack is from the UK, did he ever take you over there?"

William nodded, "Plenty of times, I met my adoptive family lot of times, it's kind of weird being the only one who isn't a rabbit in the family, but they still considered me to be one of their own."

"Wow. A rabbit family taking in a predator, wild times huh?" Emilia said smirking.

"I guess. Grandma said that I was her favorite once, so it isn't really a stretch to say that."

William thought back to when he first met his new family, he was constantly afraid of being rejected by them as he wasn't the same species as them. But Jack made sure that his family learned to accept the fact that his son was going to be a cat, and soon they grew to accept him, and then love him as much as any other family member.

"I am a Savage now. So as far as I'm concerned, I'm basically an honorary rabbit." The cat declared proudly.

Emilia was moved by his statement, "Wow, I'm going to admit it was a little weird for me to see a person like Jack raising someone who theoretically could eat him, but he definitely proved me wrong."

William got a little giddy and clapped his paws together, "Oh! I've been practicing my agent persona, want to see?"

His enthusiasm definitely showcased his youthfulness to Emilia's enjoyment, "Sure, I'm guessing a mini-Jack?"

"Something like that."

He ran up to his room and after a minute or so he ran back down, "Here we go, how do I look?"

Emilia saw that he was donning a suit similar to Jack's, the only difference is that his pants seemed a little skinnier, which made sense to her since William had the thinner feline legs as opposed to Jack's thicker rabbit legs.

"You really do take after your Dad." she commented on his appearance.

"Really? A lot of people have said that when I dress up like this."

"Alright, show me when an agent is supposed to like."

William nodded and calmed himself down with a deep breath, he looked down and closed his eyes. Then his stance changed, and he stood upright with his legs together and his paws behind his back, and his expression became stoic, similar to Jack's.

"Wow, looking pretty good. You look like a different person right now."

The cat's tail starting shaking at the tip, "I was hoping so, I need to show my Dad and the other agents that I can be just like them."

"Well, could've fooled me. I think you look the part anyways." she said with approval.

William smiled gratefully, "Thanks a lot. I hope Dad will think the same when he sees me like this."

"He hasn't before?"

"In the suit, but he hasn't seen me act like a proper agent yet." he lamented.

"He'll be happy, I can see that right now knowing him." Emilia assured him.

"That's all I want to see right now, to see him happy at me because I've grown up. Not just because I'm his little kid." he wished.

In a way, William reminded her of herself, the desire to be seen as an accomplishment to her mother; so far something she hasn't made yet.

"Well, I'm going back up to take care of Phil."

William grimaced, "Oh god, don't say that please."

She laughed, "Get your mind out of the gutter, he's just been hurt alright?"

"Hurt? What? What happened?" the cat asked with genuine concern.

She shut her mouth, realizing what she just said, and instead ran back to the guest room.

"Emilia! Wait!" William yelled out following her close behind.

Before she was able to close the door on him, he forced it open and gasped seeing the raccoon's swollen face.

"What the fuck happened here?" he said before running to Phil's side.

The lynx hung her head down and remained silent.

"Emilia, answer me! What happened to him!"

She clenched her fists and slumped down to the ground, "Jack told me not to tell you anything."

The cat observed the raccoon's head, "Dad did what?"

The jig was up, and Emilia couldn't find it in herself to stop her mouth, "Jack didn't go for a walk."

"Then what did he do? Tell me!" he demanded.

"He followed Skye." she told the cat with some shame.

"Followed Skye? To where?"

Emilia gulped, " _I'm sorry Jack._ To Hunter's place."

The cat froze, "What? No! He can't! He'll get killed!"

"You called Jack earlier though, he's fine right?" she reminded of his earlier call.

"So what? He could be dead now! He may have been kidnapped! And Skye too!" he yelled at her panicking.

"I..." Emilia tried to say something, but no words came out.

The cat dialed Jack's number again, "Come on, pick up!"

It went straight to voicemail, which only served to heighten the cat's fears. His heart began to race, and all kind of scenarios entered his head, most of them being negative.

"Where's Hunter's place?" he asked the other feline.

She shook her head, "I don't know! William, please don't go, Jack wouldn't want you to place yourself in danger to try to save them!" she said trying to persuade him out of his need to find his father.

William gritted his teeth feeling absolutely useless at the moment, "But he can't die! I can't lose him! Please, I can't..." he said before falling to his knees still beside the bed.

He grabbed Phil's paw, "My Dad has protected me all these years, and now, I want to repay him."

"He's your Dad, it's a natural thing for him to do." Emilia said walking to his side and holding his shoulders.

The cat sniffed, "He put up with me for nearly ten years, he raised me when I had no one else to turn to. He helped me become a better person, and now I'm supposed to just stand by while my Dad is out there in danger?" he cried out.

Emilia could feel just how tense the cat was right now, it was obvious to her how upset and angry he was, and she couldn't do much to help alleviate that.

"I won't let him die..." he muttered.

He slowly got up, "If he's willing to die to protect me, then I'll do the same."

"Don't say that!" she yelled at him, which surprised the cat.

She landed a hard slap on his face, causing him to yelp and then hiss, "What the fuck!" he cried out, glaring at the lynx.

It was her turn to be angry, "You really think Jack would like to see his son get killed just because he was trying to be a hero? Come to your senses and face the reality! If those thugs had did that to Phil, what makes you think you're special enough to not receive the same treatment?"

William growled, "I don't give a shit! If they want to hurt or kill me, that's their thing. But I'm not letting my dad become a pelt belonging to some dumb ferret, fuck that!"

He left the guest room and swiftly made his way to his father's room, and opened the closet door, " _Where is it? I remember seeing him put it away somewhere...this must be it."_

He pulled out a black box and opened the lid, " _Well Dad, you've taught me at the shooting range, now it's time for the real thing."_

William picked up the black pistol that laid inside, without a cartridge, but the cat knew where those were. The weight was heavy, both physically and mentally, he has never shot at anyone before except with a water gun. The thought of carrying a weapon capable of ending one's life bared heavy on his conscious. But in the end he accepted it.

He hid the gun in his suit, and grabbed a few cartridges from another box on a shelf in the closet.

The cat returned to the guest room, "I'm going now. Take care of Phil while I'm gone."

At this point the lynx knew there was nothing stopping the cat, and she solemnly nodded, "Come back home alive."

Emilia's eyesight met his face, his eyes looked just his father's, they showed the same resolved, yet staid expression as the rabbit's. But since it was with cat eyes instead, they looked more sinister and focused. To the lynx, it reminded her too much of a predator out for blood for comfort.

"Don't do anything stupid William." she warned.

"I won't." he replied before leaving the room.

He made straight for the car, and sat in it trying to figure out a way to find his father's location, but then he thought of something.

He opened the Snapcat app on his phone, and he remembered a few months back on convincing his father to get the app as well. William knew since Jack didn't bother to turn the apps off on his phone, his location would be known. He felt it was ironic since Jack wouldn't like the idea of being tracked normally, but William never told him in case he needed to know.

The avatar representing Jack appeared on the screen, and told him exactly where he was.

"Bingo, I'm coming Dad."

 _ **Well, this is going to get interesting huh?**_


	30. Chapter 29

_**Pretty short chapter, but enjoy :)**_

Judy leaned on the wall in the hospital room with Nick still lying on the bed, who was waiting for news that he hoped meant he could go home and recuperate on his own time.

The doe was admittedly fairly tired as she also wanted to leave the building and take a breather at her own home before heading back to her workplace the next day.

"So...did the chief say anything while I was out?" Nick asked laying his head on his paws.

"Nothing, no calls, no messages. I should call him now that I think about it." she said wondering if it would do any good for them.

The fox sighed, "Whatever, I'm taking a nap, anything to pass the time while the doctor figures out if I'm ready to go."

Nick didn't feel anymore pain that concerned him, all he wanted was to go home and flop down on his own bed until tomorrow morning.

"Wonder how Jack's doing..." Judy muttered.

The fox's ear picked up on her concerned tone, "Jack's doing fine probably, dude seemed ready to tear that ferret a new one, makes me feel that he's going to be alright."

"But I wonder if Jack knows what he is doing, if it's just him against Hunter, I'm worried that he'll run into trouble, you know?"

Nick comforted her in the way he knew best, "Look. Jack will kick Hunter's ass, throw him into a cell, then he'll be back before you know it, and you can go back to trying to get something from him alright?" he said with his familiar smirk.

Judy merely stood there blushing and looking away, "Yeah..."

"What's up Carrots? You seem off right now." he asked interested in her relative lack of reaction.

All the doe could think about now was her previous kiss with Jack, and now with Nick seemingly being okay with the possibility of them dating; his teasing didn't erupt any denial, but guilt.

The thought of her dating Jack while having Nick as a partner on the force didn't sit well with her, even if Nick was perfectly fine with them dating, Judy herself would feel bad holding a few secrets behind his back. She knew that Nick didn't react well to people hiding things from him, especially if it involved him personally.

"Nick. I need to tell you now, something important."

The fox raised an eyebrow, "What?"

She tapped her foot, "I love Jack."

"You weren't exactly subtle fluff." Nick replied to her claim still smirking.

She shook her head, "No Nick. I mean, I _love_ him."

His smirk lost some of it's intensity, "As in, you would like to marry him?"

The doe frowned a little, "That's going too far. But, I want to be with him." she admitted.

Nick's smirk disappeared entirely, and instead he looked slightly disappointed, "Hmm...okay, that's how you really feel?"

She could see him not taking it as well as he previously claimed to be, "This doesn't change anything! At least, not for now."

"I'm interested Carrots, what is it exactly you _like_ about him?" he questioned sitting up.

"He's..." she sighed as she tried to pinpoint exactly what about him appeals to her, "He seems smart, kind, strong..." she began to list off.

The fox intently listen, subconsciously beginning to dislike the buck again, "Yeah? That's it?"

Judy held her arm, "The more I learn about him, the more...I don't know how to put it, he just seems like a good person."

"A good person?"

She laughed a little, "I can't think of anything right now, but I trust him, I feel he's a good match."

Nick scratched his head, "Being a good person doesn't automatically mean he's the one Carrots. I think you've been watching too many romance movies."

"Then we'll go out for a few dates, see if he's really the one for me."

"It's too bad he's not into you huh?" he said reminding her, with his smirk returning.

Judy gulped, "I-I guess...I should go."

"What?" Nick said surprised at the doe's sudden change in behavior.

"I have something to do actually." she said nervously.

"Carrots? Is everything alright?" he asked with concern about her behavior.

"Yeah! Of course, I just needed to you know..." she trailed off collecting her things.

Nick was adept at picking up subtle emotions, especially someone like Judy. His guts were telling him something happened between Jack and Judy while he was out, her sudden admittance of her love towards the buck, not merely just being attracted. Jack also seemed a bit off now that the fox thought on it some more, he just had to know.

"Wait! Before you leave, tell me, did something happen between you guys?" Nick asked holding out his arm.

The doe froze, "...nothing important."

A burst of anger broke through the fox's cluster of other emotions, "Nothing important? I would like to hear it then." he said with irritation.

Judy could see him starting to get angry, and now the guilt transformed into fear, "I-I...I can't tell you!" she said before running out of the room.

"Carrots! Wait! Judy!" he yelled out to the fleeing doe.

He grabbed the IV wire and tugged it free from his arm, the pain made him release a short yelp and he hopped off the bed.

In only his hospital gown, the fox gave chase to the doe; it didn't take long for him to catch up with her, "Judy, stop!" he shouted to her.

Judy didn't know where to go, she just wanted to escape; escape from the constant questioning Nick kept throwing at her, questions she didn't want to answer.

The fox quickly began to lose breath as being bed-ridden for a while had made him lose some stamina, but he was still determined to get her to spill the beans.

"Carrots! Ack, stupid bunny's too fast for me..."

He eventually slowed down to a halt and nearly collapsed as he panted heavily, " _..._ ow, that hurts..."

Nick lost sight of her and instantly became frustrated, "Fine, I'll go back to bed and pretend she _did_ have something to do."

As he walked down the hallway he overheard two nurses chattering, "Did you see them?"

The fox stood there listening to their conversation, " _What are they talking about?"_

One of the nurses chuckled, "Straight out of a romance movie, those two couldn't let go of each other, cutest couple I've seen in a while."

"I smell a wedding for those two, if they aren't married already." the male nurse, a skunk said.

"And soon we'll see them back here with a bun in the oven." the female nurse, an otter speculated.

"Multiple more like, and really? Bun in the oven?" he commented on her quip.

She shrugged, "What? It's not specist to say that, I mean it fits since they were both rabbits."

Nick stood there taking in the information, " _Both rabbits? I didn't see anyone else besides Judy and Jack."_

"Gosh, she is one lucky doe, got her a buck with _manners_." the otter said.

The skunk snorted, "Those two are probably porking it somewhere right now."

"Get the maternity wing ready, those two are going to swamp it soon enough." the otter added, causing them both to laugh.

Nick turned to them, "Who were these two?"

The otter tsked, "None of your business, fox."

He frowned at her, "What? This is a hospital! Out of all the places you're going to show prejudice here?"

The skunk was more sympathetic, "I'm sorry, she's isn't partial to foxes. Anyways, I know one of the rabbits was definitely Officer Hopps. I don't know who the other guy was."

It didn't take much of a leap for Nick to figure out who the buck was and he clenched his fists, "She lied to me..."

"You okay there bud?" the skunk asked noticing the fox was beginning to tremble.

Nick stopped and smiled at the two like nothing happened, "Yeah, doing fine. Just uh...know any doctors here that would let me go?"

The otter looked at the skunk in confusion, "Well..."

"We can't exactly do that, you're supposed to be in your room." the skunk replied a little awkwardly.

The fox maintained his smile, but his tail already began to swish impatiently and his eyes became stern, "Fine. I'll go back, you two have a lovely day."

He strolled back to his room, thinking over and over those words that the nurses described Judy's kiss with Jack, " _Those two couldn't let go of each other...straight out of a romance movie...bun in the oven..."_

His mood continued to deteriorate, and soon those old feelings of antagonism towards Jack returned in full force. The fox told himself that he wouldn't interfere with Judy's decisions, but something told him from deep down that it would be a bad idea to let her be with Jack.

" _I know that Jack's been through a lot, but what gives him the right to smooch Carrots behind my back? That lying son of a bitch! I knew he was another scheming no good asshole, and now he's trying to have his way with her."_

He found himself growling _, "I told her that I would be cool with it. But apparently we aren't close enough for her to tell the truth."_

The headache that accompanied the intake of the drug injected inside him earlier returned, this time with more intensity, and he grunted as he held his head.

" _That Jack thinks he clever, lying to me and playing around with Carrot's feelings."_

He imagined an image of Judy and Jack happily holding hands leaving Nick behind alone.

His headache disappeared, " _Fine. I'll play dumb for now, and when I get us alone, I'll show him what happens when you try to fuck with Nick Wilde."_

The fox's smirk returned, but instead of the playful one he normally displays, this was more insidious and cunning. Ironically, the smirk matched with the stereotype of the criminal fox that Nick himself despised, but now his focus was figuring out how his next meeting with Jack would pan out.

" _Back to bed Nick, you'll get your chance soon enough."_

* * *

 _"_ _Why am I running? Nick's my friend! I shouldn't be a coward and just run away from my problems like that!"_

Judy turned around and ran back towards his room, where she suspected he returned to after losing sight of her.

" _I'll make things right, I'll tell him the truth and he'll hopefully forgive me."_

Since she didn't go too far it didn't take for the doe to be able to return to the room that her partner was held in, and sure enough the fox was back lying on the bed watching TV.

Nick saw her enter the room and gave his usual friendly smile to Judy, "Back so soon fluff? I thought you had something to do?"

The doe rushed to his side, "Nick, I'm so sorry for running off like that, I didn't know what was going through my mind."

"It's alright, I know your just being the usual emotional bunny right now. It's natural for you to be overwhelmed sometimes." he teased.

She threw a punch on his arm causing him to flinch, "Yeowch! That's where my IV was at..." Nick groaned out in pain.

Judy gasped, "Sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you like that."

"I know you didn't mean to, so...what brought you back?" he asked still pretending to be in the dark.

The doe looked away from him, "I need to tell you what actually happened."

Nick chuckled, "Alright, give the juicy details."

Judy did as he asked, and proceeded to recall the all of the interactions she had with Jack right up until Nick woke up in the hospital.

"And that's everything..." Judy finished with some shame and guilt in her tone.

Nick exhaled, "Judy...thanks for telling me."

Judy looked up at him in shock, "Wait. You're not mad?"

"Course not, how could I be? If you're really feeling like committing with Jack in a relationship, I won't stop you guys." Nick said with no malice.

"But, I lied to you! I promised not to, but I did it!" she said still feeling some guilt.

"Well, I'll admit I did feel a little hurt that you hid this from me before, but at least in the end you told me anyways. So, I forgive you."

The doe glowed as relief and happiness washed over her, "Thanks Nick!" she went to hug him again, this time with care.

Nick happily returned it, "No problem fluff, I'll always be here to support you in whatever you do."

"Same here, I'll try not to do something like this behind your back ever again." she promised him.

Out of her sight the fox crossed his fingers, "And I'll do the same."


	31. Chapter 30

**_There's some gruesome scenes ahead in this chapter, it may or may not be disturbing, just to let you know. Thanks :)_**

Jack grunted as he heaved Skye into the back of his car, " _There, now to return home, hopefully Skye will decide to stay put for the time being."_

The buck looked at his watch, " _9 at night? Surely I wasn't there that long, guess that mansion was bigger inside than I thought_."

His legs were at the last of their strength, and instead of immediately leaving for home, he felt that it would safe enough to stay and rest in the car for a moment since everyone else in the vicinity had either left the area or was dead.

Since the front row of seats was a bench seat, he laid down on them and stared at the ceiling. He went over the last hour or so; the infiltration, using his gun against the guards inside, his meeting with Hunter.

He sighed and stretched his upper body, " _I'm taking a nice, long dozer after we get home_."

The buck could feel both of legs were still in pain, though it had dulled enough that he was able to largely ignore it. Despite Hunter now being on the run, there was a strange sense of calmness since outside of the car there was only forest, which meant it was silent. Jack could see the orange glow from the massive fire still ongoing, but it was far enough that he wasn't too concerned about his and Skye's personal safety.

" _Would be a bit of a pain if the fire spreads to the forest, but not much I can do about it. I do sound like a bit of an arse, but I'll let nature take its course."_

He feared that calling the fire department may endangered the firefighters' lives since there could be still some guards out there with their weapons, not to mention Hunter who would likely also cause too much trouble for anyone who got in his way.

Jack peered around the side of the seat and took a longer look at the vixen resting on the back seat, now that he had more time to inspect her, he could notice a few blood stains on her fur, as well as a bruise on her shoulder. Otherwise she seemed to be doing well for someone who just went up against an entire compound.

The buck chuckled softly, " _Someone needs a bath. Seems I need one as well too, perhaps it'll be more efficient to take one together.._."

He occasionally checked his phone still laying down on the car seat for any messages from either William or perhaps Nick and Judy, but the buck figured that it would be wise to leave them alone.

Jack was feeling quite anxious. A sensation he has been experiencing more lately, now that he had Skye safely back with him.

While he allowed his legs to recover from the earlier jump he reminisced back to earlier days when him and his son were younger.

*Flashback*

It was early morning and Jack walked into the kitchen to prepare for the day, he found William sitting down at the table which was unusual.

"Morning William." the buck said grabbing a mug.

"Hey Dad..." the cat said tiredly.

"Have a good sleep last night?" the buck asked sitting down next to him.

The cat looked down to the floor, "I guess..."

The buck noticed that his son seemed down, "Something the matter?"

William muttered something under his breath, "What is it?" Jack asked him.

"I said it's nothing! Why are you all of a sudden getting on my back! Leave me alone!" his son snapped at him.

Jack's eyes were wide open from his outburst, but composed himself, "William, remember what I said about shouting at me?"

The cat rolled his eyes, "Not to do it. But haven't you told me to speak what I have to say?"

"That's if you have kinder things to say, but you've been acting more disobedient lately. I suspect it may be puberty that's been affecting your ability to make good choices." Jack speculated.

"Puberty? Dad, I'm only 10!" William pointed out.

His father shrugged, "Early bloomer perhaps, you are of age. I do have a book on how to raise kittens somewhere actually now that I think of it."

William learned about that particular life stage in school, but the stories that other students have told about it scared him a little.

"Dad, am I going to be ugly?"

The buck gave him a confused look, "What? What makes you think that?"

"The other kids at school said when you get older your face changes and your body looks weirder." his son explained to him.

Jack couldn't resist a hearty laugh from the absurdity of that statement, and it took a few seconds for him to recover, "The things children say these days, what kind of rubbish statement is that?"

The cat didn't know how to react, "Is it not true?"

The buck wiped his eye, "Course not, if that were true I'd be quite a nightmare to look at don't you think?"

"I guess?" the cat said holding his paws together.

Jack yawned, "Listen, you'll be fine. It'll be a pain to experience growth spurts granted, and you'll make a few messes in bed which is perfectly natural by the way, but it's part of growing up and you'll look back when you're older laughing realizing how silly your beliefs were."

"Wait, making a mess in bed? I haven't wet my bed since kindergarten!"

The buck stopped smiling and thought on his son's concern, "Mm yes, I'm afraid teaching you how to clean your own bedding will need to be discussed soon."

"What's going to happen to my bed? I'm not going to wet them again am I?" William asked a little afraid at the thought on losing control of his bladder.

"Oh. Umm...how should I put this without getting too obscene..." Jack muttered tapping his chin. "Alright, it's still early, suppose I could teach you real quick."

*Flashback ends*

Jack resisted another laugh remembering precisely the face his son made when he learned how nocturnal emission worked.

"Well, I suppose my legs have recovered enough. If I leave now I should have plenty of time to get everything ready for dinner."

He groaned as he lifted himself off the seat and adjusted himself to be able to drive, turning the keys in the ignition he began to turn around the car to exit the area when he spotted another vehicle down the road, "Shit..."

Jack grabbed his gun and parked the car, "And who's this, another lackey?"

The buck exited the car door and pointed the gun down the road, making the other car stop immediately.

He waved the gun, gesturing the driver to exit the car.

The door opened and Jack aimed it carefully at the door, ready for anything that may happen.

"Dad!" William yelled out exiting the car with his paws up.

Jack dropped his gun, "William? How in the hell did you find me?"

The cat held up his phone, "I have my ways."

William ran over to his father and hugged him tightly, "Don't scare me like that! I thought you might have been dead!"

Jack didn't hug back, which confused his son.

"Dad?"

The buck stood there with a blank expression, "Why did you come here?" he questioned the cat's motive.

"Because you didn't answer back when I called! I thought something happened to you!"

William then noticed the blood stains on Jack's suit, "What happened here?"

Jack sighed, "Ran into a spot of trouble, but it's been resolved."

"Where's Skye?"

"In the car, she is unconscious."

The cat's eyes were wide open, "What?"

"She's fine, she'll wake up soon enough. I was taking us home anyways."

William saw the bright orange sky in the distance, "Where's Hunter?"

"Escaped." Jack merely stated before walking with the cat to his car.

"Escaped? How did he get away?"

Jack groaned, "Bastard's slippery. But, I have a feeling we'll know where he heading next."

"Hmm?"

The buck grinned, "Tracking device, tiny little chip I implanted on him while we were fighting."

"Really? That's awesome!" the cat said in awe.

Jack in a rare break of character joined his son in his enthusiasm, "I know! It's a marvelous thing ain't it?"

"Seeing this kind of stuff makes me want to become an agent even more!"

The buck soon controlled himself back into his refined demeanor, "I would hope so. Alright, time we head home then?"

William looked around, seeing only trees besides the wide dirt road, "Wait, aren't you going to tell me what happened?"

"Later, we should head home now so that Skye will be in a safe location." Jack told his son.

"You aren't going to tell what you've been up to? Come on Dad, didn't you say earlier you were going to be open with me?" William said becoming more restless.

Jack frowned, "The answer is no William, I'm not going to disclose my recent activities."

William heard a loud crashing sound in the distance, "What was that?"

"Minor complication, nothing to be concerned about." Jack informed him.

The cat looked back to his father in disbelief, "Something just collapsed! You're being serious right now?"

Jack crossed his arms, "I am."

In a defiant gesture the cat turned back to the source of the sound, "I'm taking a look."

"Do that and I'll be forced to stop you." his father warned.

"Stop me?"

Jack nodded, "I'm not letting you investigate something that you can't fix."

"Fix what? What did you do?" William said looking at his father.

The buck remained stoic but the rest of his body seemed tense, as though Jack was ready for something to happen.

"Something which doesn't concern you, now go back to my car and drive home." Jack instructed.

William huffed, "Not until I see what's going on!"

"William..." Jack warned again with a sterner tone.

The cat quickly turned around and dashed off to the direction where the mansion was located.

"William! Oh, for god's sake..."

The buck chased after his son, however his mobility was limited as the pain in his legs were still present, and forcing them to move briskly returned the sensation of sharp burning, causing him to wince.

"Stop! Don't make me resort to drastic measures!" Jack yelled out to the cat.

After just several steps, the buck was already beginning to lose the cat as the pain became too much for him to bear.

"Wait..." he gasped, slowing to a jog as his lost sight of his son in the darkness of the forest.

The mansion wasn't too far from the location of his car, but it still took a long time for the buck to finally catch up to William.

Jack found his son standing there and with it, the burning mansion as well.

" _Fucking hell that's a blaze..."_

The fire was consuming more than half the structure itself, and the surrounding vegetation was also catching fire as well.

"William!" he shouted out.

The cat didn't respond and continued to stare towards the fire.

Jack joined him by his side, "Come on, we need to..."

"Dad, did you do this?" William merely asked.

The buck saw the cat's eyes were directed towards the various corpses strewn around the yard, "William..."

The cat shook as he saw a wolf's charred, bloodied body lying on the grass, the smell of burning flesh caused him to gag.

Jack attempted to hold his son's body as he fell to his knees and coughed, but the cat smacked his father's paw away, "Don't touch me!"

"I didn't cause the fire, it was Hunter. You see how dangerous he is? This is why I didn't want you to come, he would kill us both if he could and..."

William shuddered, "There's bullet holes in that wolf's head..."

Jack suspected that those same guards he shot earlier were thrown into the front lawn by the explosion, it was certainly a horrifying scene even for Jack as some of the bodies were missing various body parts, or for one, missing their head entirely.

The buck needed to get his son out of there as he knew that it was far too much for the cat to handle.

"Let's go." Jack told his son.

Tears ran down the cat's face, "What? We can't leave them here!"

Jack frowned, "Don't be stupid, they're dead alright?"

"You shot them didn't you?"

The buck rolled his eyes in disbelief over his son's question, "Of course I did! They were in the way, and I had to dispose of them!"

William gasped and took a step back, suddenly his previous nightmare of his father returned, "You're sick!"

"Come now William, you know what I had to do!" Jack said.

The cat's fur stood up, and his ears flattened against his head as he continued to step back.

His son shook his head, "No! You're a monster! You don't care about other people's lives, you just get rid of them like if they were nothing!"

Jack's nose twitched in irritation, "This is just how it is William, being an agent like I said earlier isn't just chasing down and arresting bad guys. Sometimes, more lethal measures must be taken!"

"Not like this Dad, not like this!" the cat shouted back.

"Stay right where you are!" a voice shouted out from behind them.

Both of them held their paws up, "Who are you?" William asked still shaking.

Jack and William turned to the voice and saw a security guard aiming a gun at them, "Great, seemed I missed one..." the buck lamented.

The ram smirked, "Isn't this nice? I get to kill Jack and his little raggedy son."

William hissed, "Fuck you!"

"Aw, is the little kitty throwing a fit?" the guard teased.

"Leave my son out of this, if you must, shoot me." Jack told the ram.

"What? Dad, don't say that!" William cried out.

The ram pointed the gun at Jack's chest, "Sounds fine to me."

Jack sighed, "Sorry it had to end like this so soon."

"Dad, please no." William said through tears.

The security officer laughed, "Oh wow, this is going to be one hell of a story to tell the guys tonight!"

"Stop-"

William attempted to say something, but it was already too late and the ram fired the shot right at Jack's chest.

The bullet made a direct hit at the rabbit, and instantly after Jack fell right to the ground.

"NO! DAD!" William ran to his father and knelt down, "Please Dad, stay with me!"

The ram holstered his gun, "That was so satisfying. Well, my job here is done, killing the infamous Jack Savage is going to look good on my resume. Have a nice life kid." he said to the cat before turning away.

The cat couldn't contain himself any longer, and instantly pulled the gun out of his suit and just as his father showed him he inserted the cartridge into the chamber, and aimed straight for the ram's head, "Die!" he growled before pulling the trigger.

Before the guard had any time to react, the bullet went straight through his cranium, and after a second of standing the ram collapsed into a heap.

The cat continued firing in a burning rage into the ram until the magazine was fully emptied and the gun stopped firing. As all of them were directed at his head, bits of brain matter were spread across the ground, and blood spewed out from the multiple holes.

William's grip on the pistol weakened as his body shook until he lost control entirely and dropped it.

He took then fell to the ground and crawled over to his father, "Why? Why!"

The cat held up the buck to him, "I'm sorry..." he said.

"It's alright..." Jack muttered.

William coughed, "D-Dad?"

Jack opened his eyes, "That was a good shot."

The cat continued to cry, "You're alive?"

"Last time I checked, I believe so." the buck told his son with a smile.

"I-I shot him..." William informed his father through his tears.

"I see that William." Jack said, "I'm proud of you."

"How did you not die?"

Jack patted his chest, "Bulletproof vest, I'm not a daft bunny. I knew what I was getting into."

The buck heaved himself up, "Still, that was a little painful if I'm honest."

He could see the shock and sorrow in his son's eyes, "It's over now William."

The cat stared at the ram's body, "Is it really?"

Jack looked too, "No way anyone could survive that, he's gone."

"Come here." Jack said to his son before hugging him.

William sniffed, "I killed someone..."

The buck nodded, "You did. But you knew at some point that this was going to happen."

"What now then? Am I just another murderer now too?"

Jack shook his head, "No, it was pure self-defense. You had every right to shoot him, and that's a fact."

"I'm sorry Dad. For getting us in this mess."

The buck looked around, noting all the dead bodies and burning materials spreading across the area, "No, it's my fault."

Jack picked up the gun that William previously used, "Here, take it, it's yours now."

The cat looked at the pistol, "I-I can't."

"You certainly can, don't give up on your dreams just because of something that happened out of your control."

"But I can't do it!"

"It's not a question of if you can or cannot." his father said in a matter of fact tone.

William gulped and grabbed the handle, "Fine..."

Jack let go of the pistol, "I'm sorry to have put you in this situation, but realize that we have no other choice now."

The cat looked up to his father's eyes, "Will you be there with me?"

The buck nodded, "Always."


	32. Chapter 31

"Why do I have to escort you out by _wheelchair_?" Judy asked as she pushed the fox.

Nick grinned, "Didn't you hear the doctor earlier fluff, he recommended that you take me home to see that I'm there safe and sound."

By the time the two were allowed to leave the hospital together, it was already well into night.

The doe was strong enough to push the fox, but she didn't particularly enjoy it, "You're such a high maintenance fox."

"I'm a precious good Carrots. Of course I pay close attention to my well-being, unlike you."

Judy stopped pushing him, "What was that?" she asked him with irritation.

Nick looked at her still smiling, "Aw, I didn't mean any harm by that statement. It's just a fact that I'm objectively better kempt than you." he teased.

The doe tapped her foot on the ground, "Is that right? Well, I see you've regained your strength enough to make fun of me, I'll see you later then." she told him before walking away, leaving the fox sitting there.

"Wait, Carrots come back, I didn't mean to hurt you!" he yelled to her as she continued to walk away.

He got off the wheelchair and pushed it to the side of the building before jogging to catch up with his partner.

"Look, okay, I'm sorry for saying that you didn't take care of yourself earlier. I was just trying to make you feel better!" he attempted to explain to the doe.

Judy scoffed and turned around, "Make me feel better? What of anything you said earlier is supposed to make me feel better?"

The fox knew at that point seeing her frown that he went too far in poking fun of her, "I guess I thought if I acted like I normally do you wouldn't worry too much about my personal health." he said looking away in shame.

The doe sighed, "Nick, the doctor said you were fine and judging by how you are moving and acting, I believe it alright?"

Nick exhaled in relief, "Cool, so uh...we calling Bogo?"

"Yeah, I'll brief him when I get home." Judy responded to his question with some tiredness.

"You don't have to do it so soon." Nick said trying not to push her too much.

She yawned, "I got it, just gonna pick up some coffee on my way back."

Nick's face lit up, "Ooh! I'm gonna have-"

"I was just getting one for myself actually." she told him.

His expression collapsed to disappointment, "Oh. I see."

"I'm sorry Nick, but I really want time to myself okay? It's nothing against you, but I just need some time off."

Nick could see that being on the ZBI case was taxing even for Judy, "Yeah, I get it. Well, guess I'll see you tomorrow at the station then."

Judy happily nodded, "Of course, get a good sleep then!"

The fox gave a half-hearted salute, "Aye aye, captain."

She chuckled, "Alright, dismissed."

Judy took the cruiser home after a quick stop to the coffee shop as she knew she could just park it by the side of her apartment building and take it back to the station tomorrow morning.

Once she arrived at her apartment room, she set down her half-full cup on the table and she only took off her vest and knee pads before flopping onto her bed, where she groaned loudly stretching every joint in her body, and cracking a few. After today, Judy was feeling the stress from worrying about Nick so much the past few hours.

The other thing that bothered her from earlier today was her kiss with Jack. It felt both so wrong but also so right to kiss him in the hospital before, on one paw she felt some guilt from choosing Jack over Nick, when she knew by now that the fox definitely held something for her. But on the other, she wasn't going to deny the fact that she was finding herself falling in love with Jack, even if they were for now just in a temporary partnership.

Perhaps because she was raised in a community where forming relationships with bucks were encouraged if not mandated, all Judy knew in terms of love for a large part of her life was that a doe was supposed to marry a buck at some point in her life, preferably sooner than later, and then sire him a large litter.

However to Judy, Jack was much different than the bucks back at Bunnyburrow; he didn't seem to care about looking for any doe to immediately marry. If she was going to be brutally honest, Jack was more individualistic than any buck she could think of back home. It helped he was from an entirely different country to begin with. If Jack truly wasn't attracted to her, then the doe would've gave up by now, but with that kiss, the possibility was certainly there.

"I'm giving him a call, just to see if he got home."

She quickly grabbed her phone and dialed his number, sure enough after a few rings he picked up.

" _Judy?"_

The doe nervously chuckled, "H-Hey Jack."

" _Is everything alright?"_ he asked with concern.

"Yeah! Nick's been released from the hospital and he's headed home." she informed him.

" _Oh, that's good news, I guess."_

Judy began to feel increasingly nervous as she tried to think of something else to say, "Um...are you doing fine?"

" _Everything's alright on my end. Just arrived home."_ he told her.

On the phone Jack had a softer, more casual tone to his voice compared to the professional, somewhat stern one he used when they talked face to face.

"That's good, and Jack?"

" _Yeah?"_

She took in a deep breath and exhaled, "Uh...you busy tomorrow?"

" _I'm afraid so, why?"_

Judy sighed, "Nevermind, it's nothing."

" _Is there something you want to say? You can tell me."_ the buck told her.

The doe laid flat on her bed, "Remember earlier?"

" _Earlier?"_

She cleared her throat, "Ahem, um, our kiss."

" _Yeah?"_

"Did it mean anything to you?"

" _One moment actually...I'll be in the bathroom William, I'll be back shortly."_

After a moment he returned, " _J_ _ust needed a little privacy, so..."_

Judy sat still on the bed, "About the kiss."

" _Oh yeah, Judy..."_ she heard him sigh, " _I don't know what to tell you, the first kiss I didn't mean to do honestly."_

 _"_ You seemed okay with kissing me a second time."

" _I can't believe I'm saying this to you, especially over the phone. You're...beautiful alright?"_

Judy barely contained her excitement, "Y-You really mean it?"

" _Yes, I do. It is just that I'm in a spot of difficulty right now."_

"What do you mean?"

" _I'm trying to get back together with Skye."_ he merely stated.

She nearly dropped the phone in shock but held on, "Oh."

There was a moment of silence between the two before Jack filled in the gap, " _Do you want me to tell you how I truly feel right now?"_

Judy nodded, "Okay."

" _I am being truthful when I say that I do feel something for you, and again, if the opportunity arises I would gladly try going out with you."_

 _"_ So what are you saying?"

" _For now at least,_ _as long as Skye is willing to work with me to rebuild our relationship, then I'm going to attempt to work with her before doing anything else. It would feel completely wrong for me to just drop everything and be with you if I don't give Skye a chance."_ Jack explained.

"I guess, I mean, if you really want to be with Skye instead I won't do anything to ruin that."

" _I know you mean well Judy. God this is awkward to say, but I don't want it to seem like I'm making you some kind of perverse 'backup' in case things go south between me and Skye."_

"I'm not a backup, it's different!" she said trying to rationalize her and Jack's current status.

" _Hmm, and what does the officer of the law propose?"_ Jack said with some sarcasm, though not at the same level as Nick.

"Uh..."

Jack laughed softly, " _Just taking the piss, Judy."_

Judy sneered a little, "You're pissing in the toilet?"

" _Taking the piss, not taking a piss._ _It means I was just poking a little fun into our subject, just an expression."_ he awkwardly explained.

"Oh! Haha, that sounded kind of weird honestly. _Taking the piss_." she repeated him with her own fake accent.

" _That little accent you had was actually quite spot on."_ he told her.

"Really? I just made it up on the spot, I don't watch much stuff from your country." Judy admitted coyly looking at the ceiling absentmindedly.

" _Better than what I can do, 'hey I'm walking here!'"_ he said imitating a common Zootopian accent.

Judy giggled, "That sounds like Nick when he bumps into someone!"

" _Well, living in Zootopia for more than 10 years will do that to you."_

"Wow, 10 years, I've only been here for one."

" _For being here a year you seem to have made quite a name for yourself Officer Hopps."_

Judy chuckled, "Not really, otherwise I would be living in a nicer place right now."

" _In due time, I was in an absolute wreck of a place for two years before I could find something a little better."_

"Yeah, you're right."

" _This feels a little silly, we're talking on the phone like we're teenagers in some kind of cheesy movie."_

 _"_ It kind of does, huh?"

" _I do have to ask. Are you really serious about being in love with me?"_ he asked.

"I am. At first I guess I thought you looked pretty handsome, but after getting to know you some more..."

" _I see. Are you sure it isn't some kind of 'love at first sight' thing you're going through?"_

Judy's ears sprung up, "What? What makes you think that?"

" _Judy, I know you're a good person. But I'm weary about you and other does for that matter being beholden of the fact that one, I'm British; two, I'm so called 'handsome' and three, that you only love me because you feel sympathetic about my previous hardships."_

 _"_ No! It's not like that at all! I mean, it was sad to hear about what happened to you and William, but that's not why I fell for you!"

" _Then what's the actual reason?"_

Judy rubbed her arm, "Jack, you always seem to put yourself down. You say that you're not good enough, but to me, you are. You're stronger than you think you are, and it may sound kind of stupid, but I like guys who continue to fight on even when the going gets tough. And you seem like a great guy in the first place to be with, you're strong, smart, and pretty nice to boot."

" _Is that all?"_

The doe giggled, "Well that and you're really cute."

" _Cute huh?"_ Jack replied in an amused tone.

Judy sputtered, "And hot! I mean gorgeous, uh..."

" _I get it Judy, no need to keep trying to tell me."_

"Don't other does tell you all the time that they think you're attractive?"

Jack laughed a little, " _All the time it seems."_

"You said before that you weren't into other rabbits before right? So why did you kiss me?"

" _I did it because you're beautiful like I said before. How you haven't a boyfriend or mate is beyond me."_

 _"_ Just beautiful?"

Jack sighed, " _What can I say? You're so caring, and willing to sacrifice a lot to help others. You go above and beyond to attend to your duties, and you are perhaps one of the most genuine people I've ever met honestly. In other words, a right sweetheart."_

His gushing over her made the doe feel fairly bashful, "Oh, I don't know about that..."

" _You're an incredible rabbit Judy, and I can see that you are capable of doing things that even I may not be able to do. And, I want to make sure that nothing happens to you that would ruin that ability."_

Judy found herself smirking a little, "Does that mean you care about me?"

" _Of course! I would be mad to just disregard your safety. You and Nick's for that matter."_

"Thanks for telling me that, really, it feels nice to hear that from you." the doe told him gratefully.

" _I feel that more time should pass before you can really say if you do indeed love me or not in the very least."_

The doe blushed a little, "I guess that makes sense."

" _I just want you to know that I'm trying to keep the situation straight; I do indeed harbor some feelings for you, but I also love Skye, and we are trying to be in a committed relationship. You understand right?"_

Judy nodded in understanding, "Yeah, I get it."

 _"Anyways, I'm going to prepare dinner right now."_ he informed the doe.

"Ooh, you know how to cook too? What are you making?" she said in genuine interest.

" _Nothing too special, just some chickpea curry."_

"I've never had curry before."

" _It's good for making in large quantities, as needed for tonight."_

 _"_ Wow, you cook, that's so weird."

" _What's so weird about it?"_

Judy thought back to when the bucks back home spew those messages about how a doe was supposed to be in the kitchen, "Just, I've never really seen a buck actually cook something before outside like a restaurant."

" _Is that so? Do males from your hometown have some kind of aversion towards making their own food?_ _"_

"It's more like, the girls are expected to the housework." Judy explained to him with a bit of a grimace at the absurdity of the statement.

" _Hmm...how_ _quaint."_

 _"_ You ain't wrong on that one, what else do you do at home?" she asked further.

" _Whatever needs to be done, cooking, doing laundry, dusting, repairing faulty furniture and the like."_

Judy looked at her measly microwave, "You can do it all huh?"

" _Not like I had much choice, raising William myself and all. But I still am not the 'Jack of all Trades' as some of my colleagues have proclaimed before. And you know, I make my son do chores as well to lighten the workload."_

The doe could feel herself feeling ever more enamored towards the agent, "You'd make a great mate Jack."

" _Oh uh...ahem, I should be going now, we'll talk again soon, alright?"_

Judy smiled a little, "Yeah, I'll let you go. And Jack?"

" _Mm?"_

 _"_ I love you."

" _...I love you too Judy. Goodbye."_ he said before hanging up.

The doe placed the phone on the table next to her, and after a moment of lying down on the bed she grabbed the pillow from underneath her head and clutched it to her chest, "He said he loved me!" she yelled out in excitement.

" _Aww, did you hear that? Judy's in love!"_ Pronk spoke out.

" _Shut up, don't announce it to the whole building!"_ Bucky yelled back.

" _You shut up!"_

 _"No you!"_

Judy ignored the two as she laid there on the bed still feeling excited over Jack's proclamation.

 _ **There you go then :)**_


	33. Chapter 32

Jack hung up and instantly began to despair, " _Fuck me, I've gone and done it again."_

The buck looked at himself in the mirror and made a little growl, " _You're a dirty little bastard aren't ya? Trying to fuck your way inside both of them now, think you're fucking clever do ya?"_ a voice in his head said to him.

Jack shook his head, "Control yourself Jack. Go down and start preparing the dinner." he told himself before quickly combing the fur on top of his head.

He then exited the bathroom and headed back downstairs to the kitchen, where William was also, sitting down at the dinner table.

"You took your sweet time with Judy." William said looking at his father with a slightly disapproving look.

"We were just talking about Nick's condition." his father explained as he walked to the pantry to collect the curry powder.

His son frowned, "Really? You needed to go to the bathroom for that?"

"He's doing fine, and he headed home. That's what Judy told me, and that's it."

"Mm-hmm, whatever you say Dad, whatever you say." William muttered.

"Did you happen to check on Skye?" the buck asked his son.

"Not since we got here and you put her on the bed."

Jack rolled his eyes, "I told you to keep an eye on her while I prepared dinner."

The cat held up his paws in exasperation, "And do what? Stare at her like some kind of creep until she wakes up. Or maybe you want me to kiss her on the lips and magically she'll wake up." he sarcastically suggested.

"Mind your tongue William, especially when the others come join us." his father warned.

"Fine."

His son's irritation concerned the rabbit, even despite his age, William wasn't the sort to get easily irritated by trivial things like his father's instructions.

Jack set the powder on the counter, "You know how it works, start up the pot. I'll be checking on Skye."

William sighed and got up, "Okay."

The buck headed straight for his room where Skye was being held in, and silently opening the door to see that Skye was still unconscious.

The moonlight reflected off her pure white fur brilliantly, making her seem like indeed a sleeping beauty.

" _Damn, she is stunning."_

He sat down next to her and had a small smile on his face, " _Now you're here, safe and sound."_

Jack hummed a lullaby his mother taught him when he was a small bunny while staring at the full moon.

After several minutes he could hear the vixen groan, "Skye?"

"Jack..."

The buck nuzzled his nose against her face, "You're at my house, everything's fine."

Skye fluttered her eyes, "Jack?"

"That's me." he replied with a smile.

"How long have I been out?"

Jack looked at his watch, "About two hours...give or take."

"Where's Hunter?" she asked next looking around the room.

The buck's ears dropped and he shook his head, "Afraid he got away."

Skye growled, "Fuck!"

"I agree with the statement, but for now it seems he's on the run and isn't in the position to be attacking us." Jack told her as he got off the bed.

"I can't believe he got away! Slimy, twisted ferret..."

Jack adjusted his suit, "Come down, I'm making curry for dinner, well, William is."

"Is Phil okay?"

The buck nodded, "He's being taken care of by Emilia, actually I believe he was already awake by the time we came back, if you wish to let him know you're okay."

Skye hugged Jack tightly, "I'm sorry for running off like that Jack! I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to find him!"

"It's alright, as long as it doesn't happen again. At least without telling me in the first place."

The vixen struggled to pick herself up, "Fighting off those guards really took a toll on me."

"Anything I can do to help?" Jack said with concern about her health.

Skye laid back down, "I just need to rest up some more."

"Of course. I call you when dinner's ready."

The vixen smiled, "You're real sweet you know that?"

Jack blushed, "I try my best."

Skye tugged him down to the bed, "You really thought I was letting you go that easily?"

"Whoa there, easy, I'm not exactly completely free of feeling sore myself."

He yelped a little as Skye tightened her hold on him, "It's been a long time Jack. Remind me of how you live up to your name." she said in a seductive tone.

"Skye, not while everyone else is here." Jack objected.

"Not even a quick one? We could just do it when everyone's asleep." the vixen suggested.

"It would feel wrong to do it when they are in the house with us." he explained his continued unwillingness.

Skye chuckled a little, "Come on Jack, last time we were together you couldn't keep your grabby paws off me."

The buck looked away, "It was different Skye, I was younger and I was less concerned with other things. Also, we weren't in the same place as William was."

"I'm sure he won't mind too much, he's old enough to understand what's going on."

Jack raised his eyebrow, "I would say otherwise. Anyways, I'll let you rest some more." he told her as he got off the bed and walked out of the bedroom, leaving Skye laying there a little disappointed.

The buck checked on his son to make sure he was correctly preparing the meal, "How's the curry faring?"

William shrugged as he stirred it, "It's seems fine to me."

"Let me have a look...hmm, not bad. Smells and looks like it's being cooked properly, I'm impressed." Jack complimented.

His son returned a little smile, "See? I can cook just fine."

"I can see that. You're doing well enough I'll leave the rest to you."

The cat was a little surprised, "Really? You want me to cook everyone's food?"

Jack began to the collect the dishware, "I don't see why not, you've definitely progressed in your cooking skills that I don't need to worry about you ruining it."

He noticed that the cat stopped stirring and stood there, "William?"

The buck could see his paw begin to shake, "I-I can't..." he muttered.

"What do you mean you can't, it's just making curry."

Jack could hear the cat sniff, "William, are you crying?"

"N-No..."

Suddenly the cat let go of the wooden spoon and took a step back, "I can't get his face out of my head!" he cried out falling to his knees.

His father rushed to him and grabbed his arms, "Who?"

"The guy I shot."

"Relax William, it was just a security guard alright?"

Jack realized that his son was suffering from the traumatic situation, it seemed that his son hid it from his father right up until this moment.

"I-I killed him."

The rabbit rubbed his back, "William, you had no choice, you know that."

"But I-"

His father turned towards his front and lifted the cat's face, "It was either him or us. This isn't the last time you're going to have to resort to lethal force William."

"I don't want that to happen." he told his father.

Jack closed his eyes, "It will happen again. And when it does, you'll need to be ready."

The buck held his son's paws, "You knew this for as long as you known about the things I do William. Life isn't easy or fair, it is a collection of events beyond our control. But it is something you have to defend to the very end."

William's head fell on his father's shoulder, "Dad..."

Jack smiled and rubbed his cheek on his son's face to comfort him, "Easy, take a deep breath, I'm here."

The buck's affection worked and soon enough the cat began to purr, signalling to his father that William was recovering from his breakdown, "Take your time, there's nothing to rush about."

His son exhaled, "I'm sorry."

"You did nothing wrong William."

They both got up, "There, you feeling alright now?"

William nodded a little but he still looked fairly distressed, "I'm going to sit down at the table."

Jack looked at his son intently until he made it to the chair, where he sighed and sat down before looking down to the table.

"Curry's done by the looks of it. I'll prepare your serving." Jack told his son pouring the curry onto the bowl.

"Sounds great." William replied in a dull tone.

His father picked up on his lack of enthusiasm, "Why don't you go tell the others the food's ready? I'll finish up here in a moment."

The cat dragged himself off the chair and did as told, walking with his tail dragging on the floor.

Jack watched William's lethargic movements and sighed, " _William's not dealing with the shock too well, I better find a way to counteract this or else he's going to never recover from him killing someone."_

He took a sip of the curry, "Hmm, not bad at all, good to know he's learning how to properly cook at least."

William returned shortly after with all three, "Here they are Dad."

Skye sniffed the air, "Whoa, strong smell, but it smells good!"

"It's curry, I love that shit!" Phil exclaimed running to the stove.

Jack waved his paws to keep the raccoon back, "Hey! Give me a second, Jesus Christ."

Phil snickered at the rabbit's outburst, "What? Did you say Jesus? That's so hilarious! I've never heard someone say that in a long time."

The lynx tugged at the raccoon's shirt, "Phil, shut up before I send you back into a coma." she warned.

Skye sat down next to William, "What's wrong sweetie? You seem sad."

The cat shook his head, "It's nothing."

"You can tell me, I'll listen." she offered to him.

"I'm fine..."

Jack gave a bowl to Phil, "There, now would you please sit down?"

"Yeah, thanks Jack!" the raccoon said before hurrying to the table.

Emilia groaned, "Sorry about that, he's been like this since he woke up."

"I'm glad everyone's okay, that much is certain. Here's yours." he said handing another bowl to her.

"Smells great! Looks like you can make a mean curry."

Jack smiled politely, "I appreciate your words, but I feel it would best be given to my son, he made it."

"Oh, for sure."

After serving everyone Jack sat down at the table, "Bon appetite."

William looked at his father, "I don't feel like eating it."

"Just take a few sips, otherwise you'll go hungry and next thing I know you'll be raiding the fridge in the middle of the night and you know how cross I get when I catch you." Jack told him.

"Is William feeling okay? He looks sick." Skye asked Jack.

"He's doing fine, I guess he's not hungry." the buck told her shrugging.

Phil swallowed the mouthful of curry, "He's crazy, this is delicious!"

"Come on William, you should at least taste what you made right?" Skye said to William.

Jack put his spoon down, "Fine, if you aren't going to eat, then I won't as well."

"What?" William looked towards his father in surprise.

The buck nodded, "It's simple, I'll eat when you eat, otherwise we'll both go hungry for the night, how's that sound?"

"But aren't you already hungry?"

Jack smiled mischievously, "I am, but apparently my son isn't, so I don't see why I have to eat in front of him."

Phil was already done with his portion, "If the kid's not eating his fill, I'll take it."

His remark earned him a kick by the lynx to his shin.

Skye joined in with Jack, "I agree with Jack, if he's not eating, then I'm not."

The cat groaned, "Oh my god, not you too." he said covering his face.

Jack hear his son's stomach rumble, "Would be a damn shame if my son were to stay up all night." he teased.

"Fine! I'll take a stupid sip..."

The cat collected some with the spoon and put it in his mouth, after tasting it for a bit his eye's opened up, "Whoa, this _is_ delicious!"

Jack and Skye high-fived each other, "Excellent work Skye."

"Working as a team, like old times."

William couldn't help but be a little amused by the two's accomplishment, "Cool, you got me to eat, I see you guys are going to get along great." he told them both with some sarcasm.

Jack grabbed his spoon, "It's called parenting, you'll understand one of these days."

After the meal, everyone had went back to their respective rooms except for Jack and Skye.

The vixen stretched out on the chair, "Whew, I'm stuffed. That was some good eats right there."

Jack patted his stomach, "The curry was bang on for this occasion, it's a nice feeling to see William being able to cook decently."

"So, we going after Hunter tomorrow?"

The rabbit held a burp, "Sorry what?"

Skye had a stern expression on her face, "Hunter. Are we getting him?"

Jack yawned, "Come on Skye, I've just rescued you from that mess. My legs still are feeling a bit sore and back's killing me." he complained.

"Really Jack? You're an agent of the ZBI! You sound like you've gotten soft since last time we met." Skye said with a smirk.

"Well I'm sorry I didn't have the time to be able to work on fixing my 'softness'."

"You certainly ain't the same Jack you were before."

The rabbit looked out the window into the darkness, "People change Skye. On the plus side, I've quit smoking."

"You still drink though." Skye retorted.

Jack rubbed his eyes, "And?"

"It's not healthy."

"You're telling me you don't drink any alcohol?" Jack asked the vixen resting his head on his arms.

"I don't really like the stuff, besides it just makes me gain weight." Skye explained to him.

"Well, I _do_ enjoy a drink once in a while, especially if I find myself at a bar."

The vixen chuckled, "I know that, remember when we went to the Oasis in Sahara Square?"

Jack fondly recalled that particular night, "Oh yeah, we banged each other in the bathroom didn't we?"

"We did! Remember how we had to keep it quiet because there was a guy a few stalls down from us?"

"Sure do, it was quite difficult to do when you kept saying my name, luckily you covered your loud mouth."

In retrospect it felt foolish to the buck that they even had sex in a public bathroom, but at the same time he did also feel some pride in committing that act in the first place.

"Anyways, I'm heading up to bed, I'm going to have a talk with my supervisor and let him know what's going on tomorrow." Jack said as he got off the chair.

"Alright, I'll be up there in a little bit." Skye told the buck.

Jack tapped on William's door, "May I come in?"

"Yeah."

The buck opened the door, "Feeling better now?"

His son shrugged, "A little."

"You mind scooching over?" Jack asked.

William moved to allow his father to sit down next to him on the bed, "What's up?" the cat asked.

Jack rested his paw on his son's shoulder, "Just wanted to check up on you, making sure you were okay."

"I'm fine Dad, really."

The rabbit looked around his son's room, "I see you've been keeping your room tidy."

"Well, you always told me that I should keep my surroundings clean, so I did."

His father felt a tinge of sadness at his son's impending departure, "I'm going to miss you, you know?"

"Aw Dad, don't say that." William objected.

The rabbit looked at a picture on the drawer of him and William at a younger age, "It's something every parent has to face at some point, that their child is grown up and ready to move on from the nest."

"Dad, it's not like I'm going to cut all ties with you and disappear off the map."

"No, I suppose not."

William could hear Jack breathe uneasily, "Please don't start crying."

"I'm not..."

The cat knew what his father was going through, "We'll be working together at the same place right? It'll be different for sure, but we'll still see each other everyday."

"You're right, I'm acting up again. Just me being an emotional bunny." Jack consoled himself.

"Besides, you'll have Skye to keep company with right? Isn't that what you guys are doing?"

His father nodded, "That's the plan, but..."

William noticed Jack's hesitation, "Dad?"

"Nothing, you're right, me and Skye _are_ getting back together."

The rabbit got off the bed, "I never say this but, thank you for listening to my rambling."

His son smiled happily, "Of course, it's what family's for right? You helped me just now with my issue, and I helped with yours. That's the way things work right?"

Jack walked to the doorway and turned to face his son, "You are correct William. Anyways, I'll be at work tomorrow, and you'll be attending your classes alright?"

William nodded in understanding, "Yeah, I got it."

"If you need to talk to me, I'll have my phone with me, good night." his father said shutting the door.

"Good night Dad."


	34. Chapter 33

The next morning, Judy was cruising down the streets of Zootopia to drop off the police vehicle at the garage and clock in for the day.

What worried her was that she neglected to call Bogo earlier as last night she was riding on a high of excitement over her phone conversation with Jack. The buffalo needed to be on top of the situation as much as Judy and Nick were in order to keep the mission running as smoothly as possible, and the last thing the doe wanted to do was to screw it up.

After parking the car in the garage, the doe headed straight for the briefing room to hear the assignments for the day. And happily for the doe, Nick was already present inside the room in his usual relaxed demeanor sipping a coffee.

"Morning fluff." Nick greeted his partner as she sat next to him.

"Hey Nick, you're looking good this morning." she commented on his appearance of good health.

"I slept like a cub last night, I'm crediting that to the meds the doctor had me take for 'cleansing' my immune system or something like that." Nick told her winking.

Judy chuckled a little, "Well, at least you're feeling well enough to get to work. I would've thought that you being at the hospital earlier would make you have an excuse not to come."

"I've thought about it, but honestly I had a feeling if I did stay at home you would be too worried to be able to work in the first place."

The fox yawned a little, "So, any idea when Buffalo butt is supposed to be here?"

Judy looked at him with confusion, "What? Isn't he here?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, I haven't seen or heard him since I got here."

Judy looked towards Fangmeyer sitting behind them, "Do you know where the chief is?"

The tiger shrugged, "Not a clue."

Soon chatter became to erupt in the room about the chief's absence, with theories being thrown ranging from him being stuck in traffic to being abducted by aliens.

Clawhauser walked towards the front of the room and attempted to silence the crowd, "Alright guys, could you please settle down? Guys, please. Hey! Grr..."

The cheetah stamped his foot, "SHUT UP!" he bellowed out.

The entire crowd went dead silent in shock over the cheetah's outburst, "Thanks! Anyways, Bogo couldn't be here today. He told me he had a meeting somewhere else and he won't be back until later in the day. So...he left me in charge of assigning."

Nick rolled his eyes, "This is going to end well..."

After listing off each officer's job, Judy and Nick were up next.

"Okay, Officer Hopps, you are on patrol." he told the doe.

Judy nodded, "You can count on me!"

"And Nick...paperwork."

The fox groaned, "You're kidding me right? Why don't I just shoot myself in the face while I'm at it too?"

Several officers sighed over the fox's objections and Clawhauser gave him an apologetic face, "I'm sorry Nick, but that's what the chief gave you."

The doe also felt disappointed, "Can't he come with me?"

"Sorry Judy, but his words are final, I can't change anything about it."

Nick smirked, "Not even for a triple rocket chocolate cake?"

The cheetah bit his lip, "Well...no! I can't accept your bribe!"

"I see, well Carrots good luck with your thing..." Nick told the doe before hopping off the chair.

The doe's ears dropped, "Nick..."

She pulled her phone out her pocket and dialed Bogo's number, however it went straight to voicemail.

Judy hopped off the chair and rushed to Clawhauser, "Do you know where Bogo went?"

The cheetah tapped his chin, "Mm...he mentioned something about the ZBI."

Judy instantly knew where to look, "Got it! Thanks!" she said before speeding off.

Clawhauser stood there bewildered by her urgency, "Bye?"

She passed by Nick at his cubicle, "I'm heading for the ZBI headquarters to talk to Bogo."

"What? Why?" Nick said confused.

"I want to tell him about yesterday." she explained.

The fox pointed towards her pocket, "Just call him."

"I tried. He wouldn't pick up." Judy sighed.

"Then just wait until he gets back. What's so important that you have to go over there anyways?" Nick said raising an eyebrow.

"Is it really that weird that I want to see him? I'm on patrol anyways, I'll just pass by quickly to deliver the news."

Nick thought on it some more, "Wait a minute. It's about Jack isn't it?"

"W-What? Of course not!" she spluttered.

He grinned, "Trying to chase some tail on the job? My word Carrots, your standards of work conduct are certainly slipping."

She groaned, "I doubt Jack is even going to be there."

"That's fine, if you do see him, give him a nice kiss on the cheek for me will ya?" he teased.

Judy rolled her eyes, "I'm not going to kiss him again."

"Wanna bet?"

"I'm not betting again."

The fox reclined back in his chair, "Alright, don't do anything stupid while you're there. Last thing I need is hearing about a certain bunny raising a ruckus over there."

"I won't!"

Using the directions on her phone the doe was able to make a quick jaunt to the ZBI building, and entered the lobby.

"Oh hello Officer Hopps, what can I do for you?" the receptionist asked Judy.

"Is Chief Bogo here?" she asked her.

"Yes, he is! I believe he was meeting with Mr. Carter, I'll just let him know about your arrival..."

She dialed his number, "Mr. Carter? Officer Hopps is here to see Bogo...yes, I'll send her up."

"43rd floor, room 116." the receptionist informed the doe.

"Got it, thank you very much!"

"My pleasure, elevators are just down the hallway."

Following the way as she was told to do, and with the help of several employees along the way, Judy found herself in front of Mr. Carter's door.

She took a deep breath and knocked, "Hello? It's me, Officer Hopps." she announced.

"Come on in!" a voice said.

She opened the door and looked around, "Uh...Mr. Carter?"

"Down here."

The doe then saw the mouse sitting on a miniature chair on the desk, "Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there!"

"Officer Hopps? What are you doing here?" Bogo asked in surprised at her sudden appearance.

Judy nervously chuckled, "I just wanted to talk about uh...yesterday?"

The buffalo nodded, "Fine, what is it you wanted to share with me?"

"Nick's at the police station and he's doing fine now." she told him.

"He's fine now? What happened before?" he asked.

"What? You didn't know he went to the hospital?"

"Nick was at the hospital? Why didn't you notify me earlier?" Bogo gruffed.

"I thought...forget it, I'm just here to tell you about that since you weren't at the station."

"Why didn't you just call earlier?"

"You didn't answer, so I thought since I was on patrol anyways I would stop by."

Mr. Carter smiled at the doe, "Well it is a pleasure to meet Officer Hopps. I've been reading up on your recent exploits involving the Nighthowler case."

Judy gratefully smiled, "Thanks!"

There was a knock on the door, "Ah, he's here." the mouse said.

"Who?" Judy asked.

The door opened, "Morning Jack!" the mouse greeted the agent.

The buck entered the room looking quite concerned, "You wanted to see me?"

Judy froze in her spot, "Jack?"

"J-Judy! What are you doing here?" he asked caught off guard by her presence.

"I was just here to tell the chief what happened yesterday!" she explained.

"Did you know she was coming here?" Jack asked the mouse.

Mr. Carter shook his head, "Not at all, she just came here without prior notice."

Jack took a quick glance at the doe, "I see..."

"Agent Savage." Bogo spoke out.

The buck returned his focus towards the police chief, "Yes, Chief Bogo?"

"Do you happen to have any new information about Hunter?" he asked.

Jack nodded, "I did. In fact, I had a bit of a run in with him yesterday."

"What?" All three said in surprise.

The buck sat down, "Yeah, had a pleasant chat."

"Really?" Judy asked him.

He chuckled, "Course not. It was hell."

His casual attitude didn't assuage the doe's fears, "Were you hurt?" she asked finding herself looking around his body for any signs of injury.

"Mm...a bit sore to be fair." he told her with a warm smile, "But I'm fine, thank you for asking."

The mouse spotted Jack's expression towards Judy, "Not to be rude, but I called you here to discuss our next move."

Jack nodded, "You're right. Well, since Judy and Bogo are present, I'd say it's a good time to talk about it."

Judy sat next to Jack on the other chair, "You saw Hunter?"

The buck nodded, "He's a fighter, that's for sure. Skye was right, he's definitely not a fan of me."

"He did this to you?" she said pointing out a small scar on the base of his ear.

Jack looked at the reflective window to the hallway, "Oh...guess so."

"You really feel okay Jack? I could just keep you in here if you need to stay out of trouble." Mr. Carter offered.

"I'll be fine." Jack affirmed, "Anyways, Hunter was located at the mountain range just north of Zootopia. Unfortunately he was able to escape, however I managed to get a tracking device on him so I know precisely where he is holed up."

"You planning to chase him?" the mouse asked.

The buck stretched on the chair, "Honestly, I'm not feeling it for now. I just had to rescue Skye earlier for god's sake."

"Rescue Skye? What happened?" Mr. Carter asked with interest.

Jack groaned, "Should've kept my mouth shut. Fine, Skye chased after Hunter after she was able to get one of his goons to disclose where his residence was." he explained.

"Skye chased after Hunter by herself?" Judy asked astonished that the vixen would undertake such a thing.

"She did. Even with her credentials and training, it was utterly idiotic of her to attempt to take on an entire compound full of guards by herself. So I had to chase after her myself to bail her out, and if I'm honest, I'm still a bit miffed about it." he said crossing his arms.

Judy noticed that the buck looked troubled, it was clear to her that he was feeling greatly stressed at the moment about the case, and with all of the trouble he has been going through, it was really starting to take a toll on him not only physically, but mentally as well.

"Jack, please don't strain yourself, Nick and I will be right by your side until we take down Hunter." she affirmed with a confident smile.

"She does really mean it Agent Savage, our officers are always willing to assist in any way possible. It is our duty to make sure that justice and law will always prevail in Zootopia." Bogo confirmed.

"I know that well Chief Bogo and I'm very grateful for that. But it is just that..." he looked down towards his paws, "Perhaps I've met my match."

Mr. Carter chuckled a little, "What do you mean? It is just one person Jack, it is not like you're taking an entire organization in the first place."

Jack glared at the mouse, "Thank you for stating the obvious, but Hunter is different from all the other foes I've came in contact in with."

"How so? He's just a ferret as you stated earlier and also a former agent of the ZBI. You've tangled with worst people Jack, and each time you brought them to justice." the mouse stated.

"Well for one, he's quite strong for someone his size, but it is expected since he underwent the same kind of training that I went through at the beginning of my career here. But the main difference this time is that he's threatened not only to kill me, but also my son."

Jack closed his eyes and thought back on all of the people he went against, "Before people had only threatened to kill me, but they never knew that I had a son so even if they succeeded, William would still be safe. But now that Hunter knows about him as well..."

He stood up from the chair and held his paw to his heart, "Until Hunter is stopped. I can never feel complacent, I must continue on with my mission until I know he can't hurt anyone anymore."

Bogo was impressed by Jack's resolution, "It is a damn shame we don't have you on the force Agent Savage, I'm sure you would've been very effective in stopping crime with your kind of gusto."

Mr. Carter smirked at the buffalo, "His conviction towards accomplishing his goals is one of the main reasons why I allowed him to join the ZBI. Jack's got that rare kind of energy, never overwhelming or destructive, but that unrelenting sort of persistence that I look for in an agent." The mouse then looked at the doe, "In fact, just from this brief encounter, I can see that same kind of character in Officer Hopps."

Judy's ears shot up, "Really? You think so?"

"I do, in fact, if you ever decide to join our organization, I would be interested in seeing more of your attitude at work." the mouse told the officer.

"I wouldn't." Jack objected.

Judy looked at the buck in shock, "Jack?"

He frowned back at her, "Don't delude yourself Judy, you may be an excellent officer of the law, there is no doubt about that. But being an agent isn't all glamour and pageantry and you don't have what it takes to undertake such a role."

"Agent Savage, don't speak in such disrespectful terms towards Officer Hopps!" Bogo boomed.

"I do apologize for the harsh words, but it is true. Judy isn't meant for such a strenuous position." Jack told the buffalo unfazed by his outburst.

Judy was undignified by his explanation, "I'm sure I could do the same job as you!"

He shook his head, "Don't be stupid, you are a police officer, that is what you are best suited for. Excuse me."

Jack exited the room, leaving Judy sitting there in disbelief, "Jack! Wait!" she yelled out to him.

Judy gave an apologetic look towards the mouse, "I'm really sorry Mr. Carter, but I need to talk to him."

The mouse nodded, "I understand, it was nice talking to you Officer Hopps, I hope we'll meet again."

"You too, thanks!" The doe said as she hopped off the chair and left the room as well.

"Seems something is going on between the two don't you think Chief?" Mr. Carter asked the buffalo.

Bogo glowered, "There is, I don't like it."

"Jack wait!" Judy caught up with the buck and grabbed his suit jacket.

The buck grunted as he was pulled to a stop and he turned around with an irritated look on his face, "Let go of me Judy."

"Not until you tell me why you said those things about me in that room!" Judy demanded.

Jack's expression became stoic, "I meant what I said about you earlier Officer Hopps. You are an officer of the ZPD, not an agent of the ZBI."

Judy let go of his jacket, "That was an awful thing to say, especially in front of our bosses!" she stammered.

Jack straightened his jacket and then his tie, "It was the truth, the sooner you realize it the better. Now if you would excuse me I'm going to my office." he said before turning back to the elevators.

The doe was angered by his statement, "I thought we were friends! Friends don't say such mean things about each other!"

The buck pressed the elevator button, "Friends help other friends correct? I was stopping you from delusions that you were agent material, because you aren't."

His coldness further angered the doe, "You're acting like such a jerk Jack! Why are you being this way?"

The elevator door opened, "I'm saving you from yourself Officer Hopps, before you hurt yourself just because you overestimated your own abilities."

Jack entered the elevator and faced her, "Have a pleasant rest of your day." he told her with a polite nod with a hint of sadness on his face before the door shut.

Judy stood there feeling as though a rug was pulled from under her, " _What just happened?"_


	35. Chapter 34

_**Brief scene of violence, enjoy!**_

"William!"

The cat looked up from his lunch tray to find his friend Jason waving at him, "Hey." he greeted with low enthusiasm.

"Dude what's wrong, you look really tired." the otter asked with concern about his friend's depressed demeanor.

"I had some trouble sleeping last night." he said taking a sip of water.

Jason sat down next to William, "You're not looking so hot right now, you look like you caught a cold or something."

"It's nothing, I'm fine, just a little tired I guess..."

The cat meant what he said when he had trouble sleeping last night, but yesterday had left him with a sense of trauma that was proving hard to shake off.

"Probably should pick up a coffee." Jason suggested chuckling.

"Eh, it won't help too much honestly." William told him before resting his head on the table.

"It's only lunch right now though, are you sure you could make it the rest of the day without dozing off?"

"It's fine, I just want this stupid school day to end so I could go home and rest for a little bit." William said.

"You haven't even eaten anything on your tray." Jason pointed out the untouched portions.

The cat rubbed his eyes and groaned, "I wasn't feeling hungry."

Jason patted his back, "You should go to the nurse or something. This isn't healthy."

William could feel a headache approaching, "You're probably right, I'll probably hurt myself if I force myself to keep going to class at least like this."

He remembered what his father told him earlier, " _I should call Dad. Maybe he knows something to help."_

"It was nice seeing you, I'm going to make a quick call to someone." William told the otter.

"Oh for sure, it's cool seeing you here since you know, you weren't yesterday." Jason said.

William smiled a little, "Yeah, well, see you later then." he said before standing up carrying his lunch tray.

After throwing away the food in the bin he exited the cafeteria and stepped out into the back of the school where the parking lot was, and with the exception of several people in a corner talking to each other, it was otherwise empty.

The sun was fully out and despite it being late in the year, the strength made it particularly warm and oppressive especially for him.

" _I hope Dad isn't too busy right now_."

However the buck didn't pick up, which indicated to William that he was indeed busy with work right now.

"Fuck."

He rested his head on the wall behind him, " _Guess I have to deal with it myself..."_

"Hey, pussycat! _"_ a familiar voice yelled out.

William groaned, "Oh god please no..."

The coyote walked up to him with his two friends behind him, "What's up? You seem a little down, I guess it's that time of year for you." Noah teased.

"Leave me alone..." William muttered looking away.

Noah grabbed the cat's collar, "We still have unfinished business."

The cat didn't have the energy to resist the coyote's grasp and he just closed his eyes, "Just do it already."

Noah let go of William and shoved him into the wall behind, "Hmm, maybe you aren't feeling well after all. I won't waste my energy on you."

The cat released a sigh, "Cool..."

" _They_ are." he pointed out.

William willed himself a surge of energy from deep below and darted immediately towards the door back to the cafeteria.

Noah and his posse chased after the cat, where he rushed to the concession stand and vaulted over the counter shocking the cashier manning it.

"What are you doing?" the cashier asked bewildered by the cat's actions.

William leaned against the wall, "I don't even know dude, just call someone to help me." he said holding his head.

Noah ran towards the counter, "Come out now!" he growled.

"Woah, leave the guy alone, what did he do to you?" the cashier said holding up his paws.

The cat snarled and began to hiss, "Dude's being a dick right now."

Noah snarled back, "I'm going to teach this little bitch a lesson, move out of the way!"

"What's going on?"

Noah turned around to find a concerned Ms. Barkley, "Uh, nothing! I was just chatting with him." he explained nervously.

His friends took off in different directions to avoid getting in trouble.

William frowned, "Don't pretend that you didn't just try to beat me up!" he cried out popping up from the stand.

The wolf put her paws on her hips, "Hmm? Is this true?"

The cashier nodded, "Sounded like it, Noah was itching to fight."

"That's not true!" Noah objected.

William could feel his headache getting progressively worse, "You just said that you were going to teach me a lesson, and you sent your goons after me!"

Ms. Barkley noticed the cat's disgruntled appearance, "William, are you okay? You look like you didn't any sleep last night."

The cat yawned, "You're right on that one. Guess I just had a hard time getting any shut eye last night."

"Why is that?" the wolf asked.

Noah rolled his eyes, "Looks like it's time for class, see you later William."

The cat ignored the coyote's sarcastic remark, "I'm sorry Ms. Barkley, but I'm just not feeling it today you know?"

"Do need to go to the nurse?" she suggested.

"And what? They give me uppers or something? I know I would get in trouble if I just happened to doze off in class, but it's really hard to stay awake right now." William explained to his teacher.

"Have you tried calling your father?"

He nodded, "Yeah, he didn't pick up though, he's just probably busy with his work right now, I don't blame him for not being able to look after me right now. After all, we have to take responsibility for our own lives right?"

The cat stumbled a little bit as he walked out the side door of the stand, "I don't want to make a big scene out of this so I'll just go ahead and go to class. I'll see you later Ms. Barkley." he said a weak smile.

"Be careful." she said before heading back to her own classroom.

As if it wasn't hard enough for the cat already, calculus even on a good day has definitely the low point point of any school day, the content itself wasn't a struggle since he had a decent enough grasp on the concepts to earn good grades. But the teacher was an elderly panda who droned on and on, and it was a huge struggle for William to remain awake in his already sapped state.

Since he was at the back of the classroom he eventually dozed off and rested his head on the desk, and as the class went on he eventually transitioned into a deeper sleep.

* * *

"Well? Take the shot." Jack instructed William who was aiming his rifle at a target.

The two were perched on a rooftop overlooking two people.

"I know! Give me a second!" his son as he steadied his aim at the target.

The cat could just hear the conversation that took place between the two at ground level.

" _Come on Carrots, we have to find them!"_

 _"We can't let them escape, they're on the most wanted list by the ZPD!"_

William closed one of his eyes and aimed right for the rabbit's head, "Three...two...one..."

He pulled on the trigger, and just like that, the doe fell to the ground with a puddle of blood spreading underneath her.

" _Judy!"_

William quickly adjusted his aim, "Damn it..."

The fox lifted his partner's body and instantly began to bawl, " _Judy_ _!"_ he howled.

The cat shook his head, "I'm so sorry Nick."

Jack sighed, "Just put him out of his misery."

William nodded, "Got it."

He set his sights down on the fox and steadying his breath he pulled the trigger once more.

* * *

"William!"

The cat gasped as he awoke, "W-What?"

The entire class looked at him, they could see the shakiness, his heavy breathing, and his dilated pupils.

"You're looking pale. Are you in need of medical assistance?" the panda asked troubled by his student's worsening condition.

"I-I don't know..." he muttered gripping his head.

He felt that he couldn't afford to began to break down mentally, especially in front of all these students. But he couldn't control his emotions much longer.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" William asked scratching his arm.

"You may."

The cat promptly got up from his desk and left the room leaving some of the students to only theorize in what was happening to him.

"Dude looked like he was going to throw up." one of the students suggested.

"Maybe William's doing catnip, you know how felines love that stuff."

"Nah catnip doesn't screw you up like that."

The panda frowned at some of the students, "Needless speculation only serves to make a student's life more difficult. Any more of these harmful assumptions and I'll report them to the school officials." he warned which worked as they immediately stopped throwing around the baseless stories.

Instead of heading straight for the bathroom the cat chose instead to walk down the empty hallways instead, at this point he knew he couldn't go any further in the day without risking a total collapse in his mental health.

After a lengthy walk since the nurse's office was across the campus, he finally arrived at the front desk of the room, "Hi, um...can I please talk to the therapist?"

The person sitting behind the front desk looked up at the cat and raised an eyebrow, "You're not looking too good right now."

William already was feeling judged by his downtrodden mood, "Please. I'm not feeling well." he said.

"Very well. Sit down on one of the beds inside." he instructed pointing towards the next room behind him.

The bright white light combined with the white walls and floor gave the impression of a sterile, airy atmosphere. In contrast to the rest of the school which has a decidedly historic feel to it, the nurse's office felt just like a modern hospital room with little decoration to help add color.

William laid down on the paper lined vinyl bed and stared at the ceiling, getting lost in his thoughts that went in different directions. His head felt both like it wanted to explode but also felt empty, this sensation he knew was not normal at all but no matter how much he tried he couldn't get it out of his head.

"Mr. Savage?"

The cat turned his head to see the school therapist, a male kangaroo, enter the room, "Yeah?"

"I'm Michael Parker, Mr. Summers told me about your apparent condition. May I ask a few questions?"

William nodded a little, "Sure."

The kangaroo pulled out a chair and sat down next to the bed where William was lying on.

"It seems just by taking a quick look at you that you are currently in a sleep-deprived state." Michael inspected.

"I went to sleep like at...4 in the morning?" William tried to recall through his drowsiness.

The kangaroo pulled out a notepad and began to write, "What time did you wake up?"

"Same time as always, 7 am." he replied.

"Any reason why you didn't go to sleep earlier?" Michael asked next.

"I couldn't...I guess I was too busy thinking about things."

"What things?"

William closed his eyes, now he wanted the kangaroo to go away, just so he couldn't show his pain to him, "I can't say..."

"Is it of a confidential manner?"

"Something like that." he muttered.

"Under Zootopia law I'm not required to share information if the patient requests it." he informed the cat.

William thought on that fact for a little bit, "Really...okay, I'll tell you some of it."

The kangaroo closed the door behind him, "That any better?"

"Yeah." the cat took a deep breath, "My Dad and I are going through some tough times right now."

"Is he being abusive?" Michael said raising an eyebrow.

William shook his head, "No, he's the opposite, he's being super protective of me right now which makes sense given the situation that we are in."

"Mm-hmm. Is this the cause for your lack of sleep?"

"Pretty much. I just...last night after my Dad talked to me I thought I was going to get better, but all night my mind kept thinking about what happened to me earlier and it won't stop. Now it feels like my brain is conspiring against my sanity."

The kangaroo wrote down the gist of what William had told him, "Can you share with me this particular event that caused to develop these symptoms?"

"What can I say that won't make it worse? The most I could tell you is that I was forced to do something that I really didn't want to do. It made hate myself for doing it, and now I feel like I'm being pushed towards the edge right now."

The kangaroo set the notepad down on his lap, "Is it that bad that you can't proceed with attending classes?"

"I-I don't know. I don't want to cause too much trouble for anyone."

"Before I could recommend anything, I would need to first talk to the teacher in the class that you left for." Michael informed.

William groaned, "I told him that I was going to the bathroom, but I came here instead because I wasn't feeling good at all."

"Who's your teacher?"

"Mr. Zhou."

Michael nodded in understanding, "Give me a second, I'll let him know through the phone about your arrival here."

"Alright."

William closed his eyes and soon he could feel the pressure within his chest beginning to swell, " _Don't start crying now, not with that guy here. Just keep holding on please."_

After a minute the kangaroo, "I've informed Mr. Zhou about your situation, he understands and he said he won't send any disciplinary notices."

"Thank you." the cat with a grateful smile.

"Your father is Jack Savage right?" Michael asked looking through his notes.

"He is."

"Adoptive I presume since you are of a different species than him?"

William chuckled a little, "Yup..."

"Does this create any problems for you socially? Mentally?"

"Not really, I mean, at first it was kind of weird to have a rabbit for a dad but eventually I learned to accept him for what he was. My Dad is good at doing his job of raising me, and his entire family welcomed me into the fold."

"That's good to hear. Often times when a child is adopted by parents of a different species it often creates a crisis of identity in the child as they find themselves in between two 'worlds' so to speak."

"Really?" William questioned quite interested in the other cases of adoption.

The kangaroo held his paws together, "It's especially difficult when the child isn't in the same category of predator and prey as their parents. Often times the child would run away, or the parents may try to completely suppress their child's instincts. Most of the time unfortunately this leaves the child in a state of anger, confusion, or even depression."

"My dad has been always there for me though, even if we aren't the 'same', he still did the best he could to raise me properly."

Michael smiled, "I'm glad to hear it. Speaking of which, shall we contact your father to let him know?"

"I don't know if he'll pick up right now, I mean he's working right now and all..."

The kangaroo scratched his head, "Where does he work?"

"At the ZBI."

"How do you get home?"

William felt a little embarrassed, "Uh...he picks me up."

"Okay. Well, I'm going to hope that today is the same thing. Would you be fine with staying here until your father arrives?"

"I guess..."

Michael stood up, "Alright. I'm going to give your father a note summarizing our meeting if that's okay with you?"

"Go ahead. I'm sure he'll need it." the cat replied waving his paw.

"I hope you get well soon William. If you feel that your condition doesn't improve please let me know so that I can schedule a meeting with an outside source to help you get back on a healthier note."

The cat smiled a little, "Thanks."


	36. Chapter 35

_**I've decided to make this a chapter with two parts, thanks for reading :)**_

Jack opened the door to his office and tossing his bag to the side he sat down at behind his desk on the chair.

He tapped his fingers on the desk trying not to think back on his previous conversation with Judy, but the look on her face only served to make him more upset with himself.

" _God damn it, is this how you're going to treat her? Just turn around and snap at her like she's some kind of tramp?_ "

His previous attitude towards the doe wasn't planned in advance, in fact Jack was quite happy to see Judy in the first place, but quickly after his initial delight it quickly turned into distress as he realized that her being there would lead to a temptation to have a private 'talk' with her. As a result on the spot Jack at the time decided the best way to make it clear to Judy that he wasn't intending to entertain the idea of them being together was to act as what she called a 'jerk'.

However now looking back to their last conversation with each other, it was clear from the surprise and then anger she displayed that he felt that he definitely went too far in the direction of deterrence. Now he was certain it left a bad impression on the doe, and he was afraid that in her eyes he was now an inconsiderate buck who only pretended to have shown any romantic interest in her when in fact it was the complete opposite.

His phone began to ring and he answered it, "This is Agent Jack Savage of the ZBI."

" _Hello Mr. Savage, I'm calling you about your son, William."_

Jack frowned, "What did he do?"

" _Nothing, but he's reported into the nurse's office in request of a therapist."_

The rabbit instantly grew worried, "A therapist? What happened?"

" _According to the notes provided by Mr. Parker, William is suffering from a form of trauma; he's been exhibiting symptoms that have had a significant impact on his ability to attend class. And we called to see if you would be able to pick him up."_

Jack exhaled through his nose, "I will. I'll pick him up as soon as I'm able to."

 _"Thank you Mr. Savage, he'll be in the nurse's office when you arrive."_

"I understand, thank you for calling." he said before hanging up.

He looked to his computer screen where he was composing an email that he was planning to send to the forensics department concerning evidence he carried with him from the mansion yesterday.

He tapped his pen on the bottom of the keyboard, "Hmm...I've been here long enough."

After truncating the email so that it was brief enough to give appropriate information, he sent the email and shut down his computer.

" _I doubt Mr. Carter would mind too much if I stepped out for a little, especially if it concerns my son..._ "

The buck collected his things and exited the office, "Charles, if anyone asks, tell them I'm attending to a personal errand." he said poking his head to the room next to him.

The capybara nodded staring at his phone, "Yeah got it..."

Jack frowned, "Charles."

"I know, calm your tail." he said in a dismissive tone.

"How you're still here I'll never understand." Jack said before walking away.

The buck took a quick glance at his watch, " _1 in the afternoon. I'll just quickly pop by William's school, pick him up, drop him off at the house and return back within hopefully the hour._ "

As he walked down the hallway he mentally began to prepare himself to react appropriately to any scenario that may come up between him and his son. Jack could only prepare for so many at a time, all of which he knew weren't going to be exactly pleasant. However the cat was going to act, Jack knew it was his duty as his father to make sure that he could get his son the proper attention he deserved.

Jack arrived at the academy and went straight for the nurse's office, incidentally the last time William was reported to be in the nurse's office was when his leg began to hurt badly requiring for the buck to send him to the hospital to attend to it.

"Uh, hello, I'm here for my son." Jack said to the receptionist of the office.

"You must be Jack Savage. Yes, he's currently resting on the bed, whenever you are ready just check out with us." he replied pointing to the room behind him, "Here's the note that Mr. Parker left for you."

The rabbit grabbed the note, "Thank you, I won't be too long."

The buck entered the room and found the cat sleeping peacefully on his side, it was clearly just a nap since William's tail was moving around on it's own which gave Jack the tell-tale sign that William was resting easy.

Jack looked back at the receptionist, "How long has he been asleep?"

"About half an hour."

The buck smiled a little, "A shame I have to interrupt this little slumber."

He gently shook the cat's shoulder, "Wake up William, I'm taking you home."

The cat groaned and turned around, "Five more minutes..."

Normally Jack would be slightly irritated at his son's objection, but considering the context that they were in currently, Jack was willing to let his son stay in bed for a little bit longer.

His father chuckled, "Okay, five minutes, then we are leaving." Jack told his son before taking a look at the note he received.

" _William has been showing symptoms of sleep deprivation, which seems to have derived from a previous traumatic event. Recommended treatment includes sleep, conversing with him, as well as possibly some anti-anxiety medicine."_

Jack sighed after reading the note, " _Well, I have Skye's number, might as well let her know that William's coming home early..._ "

He texted her, " _I'm at William's school right now. I'll be dropping him off shortly and then I'm heading back to work."_

After sending the message he put his phone back in his pocket and took the moment for himself to relax on the chair.

He looked at his son, " _I pushed him too hard, I forced him to do something he wasn't ready for. But what's done is done, and now I have to guide him out of the dark and prepare him for future hardships."_

The five minutes flew right by and true to his word Jack sought to awaken his son again, "Alright William, it's been five minutes, time to go."

William turned to be on his back and stretched his limbs as much as he could while he was yawning, "Mm...hey Dad..."

"You awake now?" Jack asked getting off the chair.

"Sort of." William said yawning some more.

"It's time to go home then." Jack said.

Even with the nap, the cat still felt tired, "Do I really have to?"

"You could just the stay the night here then." his father said smirking at him.

"Ugh on second thought I think I can manage." William said forcing himself to get up.

The two stepped out of the building, "It's a lovely day isn't it?" Jack asked mentioning the calm, serene atmosphere outside.

"A bit too bright for me." William grumbled squinting his eyes from the sun.

Jack lent him his sunglasses, "Here, you can borrow them until we get home."

The cat nodded and applied them on his face, "Where is your car?" he asked looking around.

"At the back I'm afraid." Jack lamented.

His son slumped a little, "Oh god, I can't walk that far..."

"You're far too old for me to lift you." Jack reminded his son.

"Can't you just drive the car here?"

The rabbit patted his back, "Where's the fun in making you just stand here? Tired or not you're walking to the car, no exceptions."

Despite William's constant complaining in their walk to the car, they made it there in relatively short time.

"I suppose with your lack of strength you will need help opening the door?" Jack questioned his son in a humorous tone.

"I got it." William said as he entered inside the vehicle.

The car's interior was already cool from the air conditioning which only added to the cat's drowsiness.

"Do you mind if I played some music?" Jack asked his son.

"Sure, just keep it down please." William said.

As Jack suspected, his son quickly fell asleep owning to a combination of being drowsy from his previous nap to the cool air inside the car and the sun bearing down on him also causing him to feel sleepy.

Jack was familiar with the fact that cats and felines in general have a tendency to take naps whenever there was an opportunity to, so the buck was already used to seeing his son doze off whenever he felt like it.

Most of the car rides with him, especially when taking him home from school resulted in William being asleep for the entire ride, something that the cat has done since Jack first adopted him. Jack never admitted it to anyone, but he found it absolutely adorable no matter the age to see his son sleeping on the ride home. He suspected that if he told anyone that, he would be met with confusion, ridicule, or even distrust.

His son groaned and woke up with a yawn, "Are we home yet?"

"Not yet, go back to sleep I'll let you know when we get there alright?" Jack said.

The cat rubbed his eyes, "I tried to, but I can't."

"What's bothering you?"

"I don't know, my head still hurts and I guess it's making me sensitive to the sounds around me?"

Jack turned the volume knob down, "That any better?"

His son shook his head, "No, not really."

Jack tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, "Hmm, how was school?"

"I don't know. It was okay." his son answered with not much spirit behind it.

William didn't even bother to check his phone, he just dully watched the world goes past by with his usual awareness in his eyes missing.

"If there's anything I could do to help, please let me know. I'm worried about you William, I know yesterday wasn't easy for either of us and if you don't talk to me it will be much harder to able to tackle this problem that's going on in your mind." Jack explained.

The cat rested his head on the car door, "I'm sorry Dad. I'm making this too hard for the rest of us."

"No you aren't, it was my fault for getting you into this situation in the first place and now I'm going to get you out no matter what it takes. You're my son and my number one priority is to see you remain a happy person."

William turned to his father and smiled a little, "Thanks."

"I can see that you're still unsure about this." Jack said observing his son's reaction.

"A little, yeah."

"Do you want to me to stay with you at the house for the rest of the day?" his father asked next as he was planning on how to alleviate his son's emotional trauma.

The cat shook his head, "It's cool, I'm just going to head to bed and take a _long_ nap."

His father held back a laugh, "If that's what you want, then I'll let you be. Just remember that if you need anything I'll be on the phone and Skye will be in the house."

"Is there like something important going on at the ZBI?"

Jack shook his head, "Nothing worth paying any particular attention to, I just need to be there to finish up some tasks."

"Oh, okay..."

"I should be back around 4. Until then, just lay down on the bed and take that nap alright?" the buck told his son.

"Sounds great."

* * *

"And that's...that. Huh, I've been really productive today. I deserve a nice lunch." Nick told himself looking at the clock on the wall.

The fox neatly stored all the papers into a folder and put the folder onto the finished section of his organizer before exiting his cubicle.

" _Let's see, I've got an hour, I suppose a sandwich wouldn't hurt_." the fox determined as the best choice for the day.

Despite the absence of his partner, Nick was in quite a good mood since the other officers that he befriended during his time as an officer where around to chat with, along with just finishing his assignment that was given to him he was essentially free until the department told him whatever was needed to be done.

Since their was a cafe right across the street, Nick felt it would be best to spend his lunch break over there in order to get away at least temporarily from the fairly stifling mood that the building he worked in had.

"What's up Valerie?" he called out to the cashier who he was familiar with.

The squirrel waved at the fox,"Hey Nick, what's it going to be today?"

"I'll take a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato, onion, extra spinach. And...a water."

Valerie tapped her chin, "Hmm, weren't you on a diet?"

"What are you, my girlfriend? I've been doing a lot of physical stuff lately and if I don't eat to match with my caloric demands I'll wither away." he whined in his usual dramatic tone.

The squirrel laughed, "Wouldn't do to see my favorite customer become a walking skeleton, one grilled cheese coming up!"

The fox sat down at the table next to the window eagerly awaiting his meal, " _Wonder what Judy's up to right now. I hope she's doing fine..."_

His mind soon began to conjure images of her and Jack getting too intimate for his liking and forced it out of his head, " _No, don't let them get to you Nick, your job comes before your pettiness. Soon enough you'll get your chance..."_

What kept the fox from getting bitter was the fact that people both inside and outside the cafe recognized who he was and gave friendly waves and nods towards his direction, something before his career that he rarely got besides from close friends. He enjoyed the positive attention that he was receiving now as a distinguished officer of the law, despite all of the hardships that he endured during training and on the beat, in the end to him it was worth the reputation.

"Here you go! Anything else you feel like getting?" the squirrel asked him.

"Nah I'm good, appreciate it Valerie." he said gratefully accepting the food.

"Enjoy!"

" _Ah, the best part of the work day, lunch time."_ he thought as he picked up his sandwich.

As he was about to take a bite Judy rather forcefully opened the door grumbling.

Nick smirked at the doe, "I see today hasn't been kind to you."

The doe sat down across the table from him, "That jerk!"

"Uh-oh, did you issue a ticket to an asshole?" Nick said still smiling.

"No it's not that. It's...argh!" she slammed her head into the table in frustration.

"Whoa there Carrots, don't get us kicked out alright? This place happens to make a mean grilled cheese." he said before taking a bite.

Judy rolled her eyes, "I'm sorry, I'm just not in a good mood right now."

Her negative attitude wasn't like her at all and it very much concerned him, "You want to talk about it?"

Judy's nose twitched, "I don't know..."

"Will a pie change your mind?" he asked smiling at her teasingly.

"...Maybe."

The fox winked, "Gotcha covered. Valerie!"

"What up?" she asked from behind the counter.

"One of your finest apple pies please!"

The squirrel nodded, "Got it!"

Judy groaned, "You didn't actually have to buy me one."

"Why not? I feel that everyday needs a hint of sweetness, and since you're being a gloomy bunny today, I feel dessert should help fill that gap." Nick explained.

The doe's ears perked up, "Really? You think I'm sweet?"

Nick looked around, "Maybe?"

Judy playfully slapped his arm, "Nick cut it out, the other people here might get the wrong impression!"

"Let them think whatever they want, I'm just glad that you decided to come here in a bad mood and not take it out on some poor, innocent civilian." Nick said reclining on his chair.

"I would never do that!" she objected.

"Everyone has their limits fluff, I've seen you right at the limit a few times before, Karma help us all if that line is ever crossed." he said taking a sip of his drink.

After the two were conversing for a while, the pie finally arrived, "Mm-mm, looking absolutely exquisite." Nick said licking his lips at the sight of the freshly baked good.

"It does look great, it remains me of Gideon's pies." Judy told Nick remembering the other fox's baking.

"Oh yeah, it was a while since I had one, that blueberry one had me in a food coma the entire afternoon." he reminisced with a chuckle.

Judy took a slice onto her plate and took a bite, "Mm...wow! This is good!"

"Didn't I tell ya? I swear if I wasn't watching my weight I would eat these fuckers everyday." he said taking his bite.

"Nick!"

"What?" he asked with his mouth full.

"Watch your tongue, there's kids here!" she said pointing out a child across the cafe.

The fox swallowed the pie, "Calm down Carrots, we're both adults, besides I doubt that kid knows what I'm talking about. He's what...two? Three?"

She sighed, "I know that Nick, but still..."

"Alright, I'll refrain from uttering any 'foul' language if that makes you happy." he promised sarcastically.

The doe smiled a little, "I didn't mean to not use it entirely, just be more mindful of your surroundings."

"Isn't that a rabbit is good at anyways?" he said wiping his mouth with a napkin.

Judy thought on it, "Hmm, kind of."

"Anyways, since you've got your pie, care to share why you've been acting a little upset?" he asked taking another bite.

"Fine." she sighed looking away, "While I was at the ZBI...I saw Jack."

The fox for a second began to frown but quickly willed himself to remain smug, "Oh? And what happened?"

Judy wasn't sure how to break it down to the fox, "Well, at first he looked pretty happy to see me over there."

Nick held his paws together and nodded his head attentively, "Yeah, and then what?"

"I don't know what happened Nick, Jack was being all nice and sweet to me, but then he got mad when his boss thought I would be a good agent." she explained to the fox.

"Huh, weird." Nick said raising an eyebrow, "What did he say?"

"He said that I wasn't agent material, that I would hurt myself if I tried to do the same job that he did." Judy she repeated Jack's words.

Nick held back a growl, "Well, I say that he's wrong. You've got what it takes to be an agent, in fact I think you would make a better damn agent than him!"

"That's what I said! But Jack didn't seem to care about my opinion!"

The fox's animosity towards the buck only continued to strengthen.

"So now what? You and Jack are over?" he asked still smiling.

Judy looked at him baffled by his question, "What? We weren't even dating in the first place!"

"I meant is your little crush on him gone?"

The doe scratched her paw, "I don't know. I'm sure Jack didn't mean to hurt my feelings like that, maybe if I ask why he said those things it would shed some light on what he really meant."

"You've gotten soft Carrots, normally you are the most stubborn bunny around." Nick teased.

"What, just because I'm willing to let Jack explain his actions it makes me soft? Is that what you are saying?" she asked crossing her arms.

The fox shook his paws, "No! Not at all, it's just I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I'll be fine Nick, the worse thing Jack could do is to keep acting like a jerk. I'm not just some dumb, innocent doe that's going to get her heart strings pulled by some handsome buck." she stated.

"Glad to hear that, I'm happy to see you're going to be smart and not get too hung up over some random guy." he said.

"Jack's not some random guy though, sure we may have known each other only a few days, but I really do feel that he may be the one." she told the fox.

Nick finished his portion of the pie, "Well, whatever you choose to do, make sure it doesn't affect your work life alright?"

"I won't. Whatever happens, I'm still an officer of the ZPD." she assured her partner.

He looked at his phone, "Well would you look at the time? Time for me to head back."

Judy sighed, "Me too I guess..."

"Come on fluff, without your usual energetic self it's going to bum me out too." he said faking sadness.

She chuckled, "Sure Slick."

After Nick paid the cashier the two left the cafe and headed for the precinct, "Anyways, did the chief say anything?"

Judy tried to remember, "Nothing really, I guess we just go about our normal routine until Jack needs us again."

The fox tsked, "Hmm, there isn't much to do over here. I finished all that I was supposed to do anyways."

"You did all the work?" the doe asked in disbelief.

"Yup, with plenty of time left to spare." he told her with pride.

"Look at you! We should ask Clawhauser if you could just join me on patrol." she suggested as she opened the front door.

Nick cracked his knuckles, "Sounds like a plan."


	37. Chapter 36

_**I'll give a little background story about Hunter in this chapter. Nothing too serious but it gives you an idea of what kind of person he actually is.**_

Hunter finished firing off his clip towards the target at the shooting range, "Damn it..."

The bullet holes mostly missed the head and chest, instead they ranged from just clipping the sides to missing it entirely.

The target next to him in contrast was nearly flawless, and as he suspected he found out who was responsible.

"Savage..." The ferret groaned, ever since that young firebrand entered the force the spotlight has been focused on the buck.

He could see Jack's fierce determination in his eyes, something Hunter's never seen in any rabbit until he came along.

The ferret tapped his shoulder, which slightly frightened Jack causing him to a jump a little, and he immediately turned towards Hunter with an annoyed look on his face.

"What do you want?" Jack asked looking quite irritated.

"Just wanted to see how my favorite chap is doing." Hunter replied.

The buck rolled his eyes, "If it isn't something important, bugger off." he told off the ferret before returning back to his shooting practice.

"Dickhead." Hunter muttered before returning to his station.

The ferret has been in the ZBI for a few months now, and currently his reputation among the rest of the roster didn't extend much beyond coffee carrier. He resented the disregard that the rest of the agency had for him. At the most, he was given a nod of acknowledge by other agents, at worst some would outright say to his face that he wasn't welcomed here.

Him and Jack shared the same floor, but that was as far as familiarity went between them. The buck didn't seem to think highly of the ferret, and in the few months they have spent together Hunter only disliked the rabbit more.

The ferret was lucky to have an office at the side of the building with a decent view of the city, but beyond that his space wasn't glamorous, there was barely enough space behind his chair to allow his tail to even move.

But there was one agent that did happen to act talk to him in friendly terms.

"What's up Agent Walker?" Skye greeted the ferret.

He managed a smile for the arctic vixen, "Hey Agent Skye."

"Skye's fine dude, I told you already." she reminded him.

Hunter chuckled a little, "Oh sorry, I guess it slipped my mind."

"Whatcha up to?" she asked standing in the doorway.

"Um, just fixing some errors I made in a report. And I'm having a meeting with the East District committee." he told her.

His nervousness made the vixen smirk, "You look a little skittish." she pointed out.

The ferret blushed, "I-I'm not!" he denied looking away.

"Sure. Anyways, I was going to the bar later, going to pound down some brewskis, you in?" she asked.

"What's a brewski?" Hunter asked in confusion.

The vixen laughed, "A beer, what, isn't that a word over where you are from?"

Hunter shook his head, "No, not really."

"Anyways, you coming or what?"

The ferret smiled gratefully, "I would like that."

"Cool! I'll be waiting at the front lobby at 6." she told him.

"I'll be there." he affirmed with a smile.

Skye held up a peace sign with her fingers before departing, "Deuces."

Hunter sighed and looked down to his desk, " _She's such a nice person, is she like that towards everyone? It would be nice to have her as a friend."_

He looked out the window and into the cityscape, " _I miss being home, but I can't stay in my shell forever. Maybe this is my chance to start building a new life here."_

The ferret had a thoroughly middle class life back in the UK, as a result he never felt much struggle. But in search of excitement in his life, the ferret chose to join the ZBI thanks to a recommendation from the public school he attended due to his high grades and athletic prowess he displayed during his school career, after a few years in training, he officially became an agent.

After his shift was over, he clocked off for the night and grabbed his jacket before heading out to the lobby to meet with Skye.

As she said earlier the vixen was in the lobby on her phone waiting for Hunter to arrive.

"Uh...Skye?" the ferret called out.

She looked up to him and waved, "Hey you made it! Ready to go?"

"Yeah, I guess." he said still a little unsure on how to approach her.

"Come on Walker, you seem a little stiff. Couple of drinks ought to fix that." she said.

The ferret rubbed his paw, "Um, I was meaning to ask you."

Her ears perked up, "What's up?"

"I...nevermind. Let's go."

Skye looked at him with some confusion before shrugging it off, "Okay, anyways the place isn't too far from here, we can walk. Is that okay?"

Hunter nodded, "Yeah, lead the way."

The establishment was a few blocks down, and this bar was unlike anything he has ever seen.

"What is this place?" he said seeing the brightly lit neon sign that said, 'Blue Star'.

"Coolest bar in town, that's what." she declared.

Inside once again the ferret was surprised by the appearance. It was bright and colorful inside, with contrasted with the pubs back home, and there was not only just the usual bar and stools, but also arcade machines, a karaoke stand, and even what looked a catwalk of sorts.

"Wow, this is nice." Hunter said admittedly a little impressed.

"I like it here, it's so fun to just hang out after a hard day's work." she told the ferret.

The two sat down at the bar, "Hey Mark, we gonna start off with two shots of vodka." she told the bartender.

"Got it, who's the new guy?" he asked.

"This is Walker, uh..."

"Just Walker's fine, I prefer to be called by my last name." he told them.

"Alright Skye and Walker...heh, fun name combo."

The vixen chuckled when she realized what it meant, "That's true!"

"Oh yeah, Skye Walker. Pretty clever." Hunter acknowledged with a smile.

"Two shots coming right up." the bartender said pulling out two shot glasses.

The ferret stared at the glass with worry, "Okay, you can do this." he muttered to himself.

"What's wrong, you can't handle a drink?" Skye asked teasingly.

"It's not that! I just don't want to make an arse of myself."

The vixen patted his back, "Don't worry, enjoy yourself, that was the point of coming here right?"

The bartender poured the vodka into the shot glasses, "Here we go. Enjoy."

Skye held up her shot glass, "To the rest of our shitty lives!"

Hunter held up his, "Cheers."

The ferret downed the drink and swallowing he grimaced a little and slammed the glass on the counter, "Woo, that was strong."

"I'll be paying for tonight, so drink to your heart's content." Skye told him.

"I object to that for my health's sake." Hunter countered.

Skye shrugged, "Alright, drink until your satisfied I guess."

After a few shots the ferret already was feeling less anxious, "Thanks for bringing me here Skye. I wouldn't have thought of seeing this place even if I walked by."

The vixen nodded, "You're welcome. Always happy to have some company here."

"So anyways, what did you wanted to ask me earlier?" she questioned the ferret.

"Oh it's just a silly question, nothing to worry about." Hunter said trying to dismiss the subject.

Skye leered closer in interest, "Come on I'm buying the drinks, tell."

Hunter tapped the counter, "Okay. I just was wondering..."

His pause only heightened the vixen's curiosity, "Hmm?"

The ferret laid his paws on his legs, "You're the most positive person in the entire agency. The nicest, most outgoing, the most...just friendly person. How do you do it is what I'm asking."

"I don't know, guess I was born with it. My parents always said I was the spunkiest kit on the block. But it doesn't mean that you can't be a nice person without being like me. The point is, you're capable of being kind to others regardless of how 'energetic' you are, get it?" Skye assured the ferret before ordering another drink.

Hunter nodded, "Yeah, I think I understand."

Her attention turned to the person who sat down next to her, "Speaking of the devil..."

Hunter spotted the new arrival and instantly his mood soured, "What's _he_ doing here?" he said pointing out the rabbit.

Jack didn't seem particularly pleased to find the ferret here either but shrugged it off, "Hey Skye, funny seeing you here."

The vixen rolled her eyes in a playful manner, "You know I'm here every Friday night, can't beat happy hour."

Hunter growled a little, already with Jack here he felt that he was losing the attention of potentially the only friend in the entire ZBI.

The vixen turned around to the ferret, "You know Jack right?"

Hunter crossed his arms, "A little..."

"What? You don't like him?" she asked a little surprised at his demeanor.

The ferret silently fumed, leaving the vixen a little worried about Hunter's lack of response.

Meanwhile Jack ordered himself a drink, "So Skye, is your new boss treating you alright?" he asked.

Skye groaned, "Not much better than my old one. I think this dude's got the hots for me."

Jack looked at her with both disbelief and confusion, "What? Really?"

She nodded, "Yesterday he said hi to me in the break room...and then he unbuttoned his shirt to show off his chest."

"That's quite shit behavior your boss is doing." the buck disapproved.

"I know, but what can I do? This is my third boss since I arrived here last year, and I don't want to risk getting fired just because I'm 'difficult'."

Hunter tsked, "Report him! He'll keep harassing you if you don't!"

The vixen clapped her paws together, "Or I could teach him a lesson not to mess with me."

"That's not what I meant-" Hunter began to say but was interrupted by Jack.

"Sounds like a solid plan to me. A bloke like him will know his place once he's taken down a few pegs." Jack agreed with the vixen with enthusiasm.

The ferret was taken aback by the two's violent tendencies, "You'll get in trouble if you do that!" he said trying to appeal to reason with them.

"I'll pretend to go along with his advances in his office, and then when he least expects it...BAM!" Skye explained emphasizing her intentions by smacking her fist into her other paw.

Jack nodded, "That's good, humiliate him so that he won't even look in your direction."

"This is stupid! You guys are acting like we are in school or something!" Hunter cried out.

The buck disregarded his worries, "Skye doesn't deserve to be treated like this, we need to make our intentions clear."

Hunter was exasperated at the fact that the buck was egging on the vixen's intentions and he didn't want to see his only friend thrown out of the agency just because some headstrong bunny told her to.

"Skye, don't listen to him, he's just some rabbit that happened to get in by luck! He'll ruin your life if you go with him!" he implored the vixen.

Skye could clearly see that Jack's presence was upsetting the ferret, so for now the vixen attempted to appease Hunter to avoid any potential conflict between the two males.

"Can we talk later Jack? Walker and I were having a drink, you know, just getting together."

The buck leaned over to look at Hunter a little suspiciously, "Yeah, I'll let you two be..."

Jack hopped off the seat and headed to the arcade.

The ferret frowned, "Do you hang out with him?"

Skye shrugged, "Once in a while, he's actually a pretty nice dude once you get to know him. I'm guessing that normally towards strangers he's a little cautious, maybe even shy."

"He doesn't strike me as a 'shy' person." Hunter replied with some distrust, "Besides, I don't exactly feel comfortable being around him."

"Jack's a good guy, he's just got some issues that he has to work over." she told the ferret taking a sip of her drink.

Hunter took an interest in the appearance of the cocktail, "Looks good, what's it called?"

Skye patted the glass, "Sex on the beach."

"Really?" Hunter said a little perplexed by the name choice, "Seems a little obscene."

She moved it over in front of him, "Take a sip."

He did as she told him to, "Hmm...oh! It's sweet!" he said in surprise.

Skye took the drink back, "It is, perfect for lightweights to get wasted."

"I am not a lightweight!" Hunter retorted.

"I didn't say you were." she said with a wink.

The ferret covered his face in embarrassment, "Maybe it was a mistake to come here."

"Aw don't be like that, wanna hit up the karaoke stand?"

Hunter shook his head, "You go ahead, I'll just continue ingesting more drinks."

"Oh come on, the guy singing right now is hilarious, he always does it drunk."

The ferret looked at the tipsy coyote, "It does look fun."

The two sat at a table in front of the karaoke stand, despite the coyote obviously being deeply intoxicated he was still decently singing the lyrics without much slurring or forgetting the words. However at times the coyote would stumble a bit to the side before recovering and when back to singing the lyrics again.

Hunter had to admit that it was enjoyable in watching a drunk person somehow managing to keep themselves together well enough to sing an entire song. However it didn't last too long as the coyote eventually fell off the karaoke stand and was out cold.

"Damn it, I had a bet that he was going to last longer than that. There goes ten bucks." Skye lamented.

The ferret looked with worry at the unconscious singer, "Is he going to be okay?"

Skye shrugged, "Eh, probably, if not the hospital's isn't too far." she said with a casual tone.

Next Skye suggested that they hit up the arcade, which Hunter was more willing to do as he used to frequent them as a child.

"How about this one? I like racing games." Hunter suggested pointing out the booth with the steering wheels.

The vixen nudged his shoulder, "Are you a good driver?"

Hunter meekly smiled, "I can drive stick shift."

His comment made the vixen laugh, "I see you, alright then."

After several runs, the ferret was able to beat the vixen each time, which impressed her, "Wow Hunter, you're really good at this."

"I told you I liked racing games." he told her with a confident smile.

"Seems like it, considering how much you drank earlier you're still pretty sober." she said commenting on his relative stability.

The ferret reclined in the seat, "I feel a little light-headed to be honest."

"Wow look at Jack go." Skye told the ferret.

Hunter groaned and looked over, it seemed Jack was playing a zombie game, holding a fake assault rifle to shoot at the targets.

"So what? I can do better!" Hunter boasted.

The vixen looked at the concentrated buck, "Sounds like a challenge, Jack's got a trigger finger."

The ferret got off the car seat and ran towards the stand where Jack was.

"Jack!" Hunter yelled out.

The buck continued to shoot at the screen, "Not now I'm trying to beat my high score."

"I want to beat your high score." the ferret declared.

"You can't." Jack merely stated focusing on the game.

Hunter clenched his fists, "I will!"

After Jack finished his round he swore as he was a few points short of accomplishing his goal, "Fine. Do it." he said shunting the rifle forcefully into the ferret's paws.

Hunter frowned at him, "I'll show you, dumb bunny..." he inserted the quarters and then he turned to the screen, readying himself by aiming the gun at the screen.

One by one the zombie began to manifest on the screen, familiar with how the game functions the ferret made sure to prioritize headshots in order to maximize how many points he received.

Skye chuckled as she watched the ferret get into the zone, "This reminds me of when I play Paw of Duty Zombies."

"Oh yeah, I've seen people play that game, seems pretty fun." Jack added.

"It is, I recommend buying one." Skye said approving of the game.

Jack shook his head, "I don't play these kind of games at home, only here."

"Huh. More you know." Skye said still watching the ferret.

"You should treat him nicer Jack, he's pretty new to the place and he isn't exactly swimming in friends." Skye told the buck.

Jack looked at her, "What?"

Skye rolled her eyes, "I mean stop acting up with him."

"Mm-hmm, sure..." Jack merely said watching the score rapidly rise on the screen.

"I'm serious Jack, one day treating him like this is going to backfire." Skye warned him.

"Damn it, he's getting close to my high score!" Jack yelled out.

Hunter at this point also knew that and was purely focusing on the game at this point completely ignoring any outside noise, " _Come on, just a few more..."_

The zombie horde nearly overwhelmed the ferret, but he was so determined to beat Jack that even all of them coming at him at once didn't deter him, the last few seconds were littered with points flying across the screen, and before he knew it the game was over.

"Did I...I won!" Hunter exclaimed.

The vixen clapped her paws, "Congrats, isn't that nice Jack?"

The buck stood there in shock, "That's not possible..."

Hunter put the rifle back on the stand, "And that's how it's done."

The ferret hiccuped a little as the alcohol began to affect his body, "I've got quite the finger on the trigger huh?"

Jack's nose twitched in irritation, "So what if you beat me in some stupid video game, I bet it's a different story in real life."

The vixen sighed, "Jack come on, I came here to have fun, not to start fights."

Hunter nodded, "Yeah Jack, just wanted to have a bit of fun. What's the trouble with that?"

Jack scratched his head, "I don't care about whether you have fun or not, but you look like you want to start something with me."

"Oh surprise, poor Jackie's playing the victim right now. Because the big, bad ferret happened to be better than him at some 'stupid video game'." Hunter said mocking Jack.

The buck raised an eyebrow, "Playing the victim huh? From where I'm standing it sounds like your projecting your own ideas onto me."

"I'm not projecting! Stop trying to make me look bad." Hunter huffed.

Skye growled, "Oh would you two shut up? I swear..."

Jack looked at his watch, "Well I'm calling it a night, I have other things to do than to continue this useless banter with you. Have a good night." he told Hunter before walking off.

"Jack! Ugh..." Skye called to the buck to no avail.

"What a prick." Hunter said scoffing at the rabbit's callous behavior.

The vixen shook her head, "I'm sorry, Jack doesn't normally act like this."

"He seems to have something against me." the ferret said.

"Jack doesn't have anything against you, he's probably just like this because he's been drinking."

Hunter frowned, "Drinking alone doesn't make a person act like that."

"Jack might act like a jerk sometimes and I know it sounds like I'm making up excuses for him but he's had a pretty rough childhood. He still sometimes has a hard time getting along with others but trust me he's not acting out of malice just because he wants to."

"Still I'm keeping an eye on him. So, what next?" Hunter asked the vixen.

Skye rubbed her chin, "Mm it's gonna be 7, still have plenty of time. I gotta feeling I'm going to beat you at that racing game this time." she told the ferret pointing at the machine.

Hunter cracked his knuckles, "Bring it on."

 _ **I hope this provided some insight into Hunter's association with Skye and Jack, thanks for reading! :)**_


	38. Chapter 37

Once Jack and William arrived at the house, the rabbit had to practically carry his son up to his room since the cat was so drowsy from napping earlier, and with the scepter of sleep deprivation still hanging over the teen, he didn't have the energy to try to hoist himself up to his own room.

"You know, you could've just slept on the couch until you were well rested enough to be able to take care of yourself." Jack told the cat as he dragged him inside his room.

"Hmm...nah, it would be too uncomfortable." William muttered.

Jack let his son flop onto his bed, where he instantly curled up into a comfortable position and closed his eyes, "Thanks Dad, I'll be good here."

His father nodded, "You're welcome. I hope that you sleep well, but don't forget to eat something so that you don't end up with a cramp. I've done that before on a mission and it isn't fun to be on a empty stomach just because you decided to sleep in."

William yawned, "Yeah got it, I'll get something later."

"You don't need anything? Some water, an extra blanket?" Jack asked his son.

The cat shook his head, "I'm good."

"To be honest you gave me quite the scare back at the academy for a moment." The buck told William, "I thought you've cracked under the emotional pressure and became well...dejected."

His son stretched out his limbs, "I'll admit that I did have some trouble, but now that I'm here I feel safe enough to recover."

Jack found himself not wanting to leave just yet, so he sat down on the bed right next to his son, "Remember when you were stuck in bed because you couldn't walk for a few days?"

His son sighed, "Yeah, I do."

"I took some time off in order to take care of you, it was lucky that Mr. Carter was fully understanding of my situation and also I had quite a bit of vacation time saved up." Jack reminisced.

A small surge of guilt began to enveloped in the cat's consciousness, "I remember that too Dad, you didn't have to do that for me..."

"I didn't _have_ to, but I _wanted_ to." Jack clarified, "We watched that entire hockey tournament together on the TV, you kept asking me to bring your favorite snack."

The cat chuckled, "Pretzel bites with peanut butter in them."

"You had so many your stomach started hurting." Jack reminded the cat with a smirk.

William groaned, "Ugh don't remind me, it was hard enough to be stuck in the bed already but dealing with a stomachache at the same time."

The buck patted his son's shoulder, "I even stayed in your room one night because you were having a rather difficult time being able to sleep."

The cat could remember his father dragging in the blanket and pillow from his own room and slept on the floor right next to his son to act as a comforting presence of sorts, it worked as William at the time felt secure enough to be able to overcome his insomnia.

"You did a lot of stuff for me huh?"

Jack smiled, "Of course, and I never regretted it. I would dare say that adopting you was one of the best decisions I've ever done in my life even."

William snorted a little, "You're just saying that to keep me happy."

"No, it's the truth. Without you I'm pretty sure I would've felt less fulfilled, less happy, without something purposeful in my life I would've felt aimless. I may have even just left the ZBI altogether and done something less...ethical." Jack admitted.

His father's admittance surprised the cat enough that William didn't feel as tired as before, "I'm really that important to you?"

"Course, what makes you think otherwise?" Jack asked raising an eyebrow.

William thought back to previous altercations, "I used to think you raised me only because you _had_ to."

The buck shrugged, "I could see where your perspective is coming from. At some point I would have to concede that I did feel that you felt at the very least a responsibility. But as I grew more experienced with being a parent I've realized that at some point all parents have gone through something similar to what I've gone through. And eventually I've learned to fully accept and embrace my new role."

William sat up on his bed, "You're saying most parents think that their kids are a burden?"

"Perhaps, it is quite logical to have feelings like that. Raising a child is considered by some to be a burden financially, mentally, physically...but I feel at least it's a worthwhile investment." Jack explained trying to appeal to the cat's logic.

"An investment? Now you're just making me feel like a material object." William sarcastically complained.

His father could only roll his eyes at his son's witty comment, "If you were an object, I wouldn't have been so concerned about your current mental state now would I?"

It began to rain outside again as the clouds covered the sky, Jack noticed the change in the climate and covered the window with the blinds, "I doubt the sight of rain would ease your burdens."

"Anyways, would you mind at all if I said you should take a break from this agent nonsense at least until you feel better?" Jack asked the cat.

"I'll be fine." his son assured the rabbit.

The cat began to feel drowsy again, "I think I'm going to go back to sleep."

"Alright, I'll let you rest." Jack said getting off the bed.

"You're going back to work?" the cat asked.

"In a little bit." Jack answered with a bit of disappointment in his tone.

"Oh, cool I guess..." the cat said before lying back down.

"What's wrong?" the buck asked noticing his son's rather gloomy demeanor.

"Are you going after him again?" the cat spoke out his worries.

The buck nodded, "You know I am William, I'm not comfortable with the fact that he's still out there potentially planning something that could send harm's way to us."

"But Dad..."

Jack shook his head, "Please don't object anymore, it's my job to protect you and as part of that, I can't risk letting him get away."

The fact that his son was in a weakened state only served to strengthen his resolve, "I...I don't want you to die because of me. I've already caused too much pain in this world just for you to die as well." Jack told his son.

William felt uncomfortable whenever his father entered that now familiar melancholic state in his thinking, "You've told me this many times before, I think I get it now." he reminded the rabbit with a small smile.

The rabbit crossed his legs, "I only tell you this because I'm afraid I won't be able to tell you these things again."

"Well as long as you don't die on me I doubt that's going to happen." William said in a manner of fact tone.

"That's not what I meant."

His son tilted his head in confusion, "Huh?"

"Consider this; in my experience, unconditional love isn't a thing." Jack explained.

"What do you mean by that?" his son asked a little suspiciously.

"Love is something that is constructed between the people that created it. Like anything that is constructed, it can also be deconstructed. Sometimes gradually, and sometimes all at once." Jack forewarned.

"Wait. Is this about us?" the cat asked starting to catch on to his father's implications behind the speech.

Jack sighed, "You've got the idea. This 'love' we have isn't something that's permanent; one day you may decide that you in fact don't harbor any love for me, but even then I'll still consider you my child."

"What makes you think I'll hate you?"

"That's something that you may or may not figure out in the future. But for now, just to let you know you're still family to me."

"Um...okay?" William said still unsure what his father meant to say.

Jack clapped his paws, "Alright! Good talk, I'll let you take your much needed nap."

"Actually I have one more question..."

The rabbit's ears lifted in interest, "What's that?"

"Do you like Judy? You know as in... _really_ like." William asked.

"If I told you yes, would you be disappointed in me?" the rabbit asked back with some worry in his tone.

"This might sound kind of crazy but honestly, not really." his son admitted.

The buck's jaw nearly dropped, "You're...not angry at me?"

"Well I'm not proud or advocating this but I mean, what am I supposed to do? Act as some kind of buffer between you and your love life?"

Jack hadn't expected his son to act in any way besides anger or disappointment towards his situation, "Please realize that I'm trying to resolve this problem already okay? I just wanted to tell you now, I've already kept too many secrets away from you and I couldn't bear to hold this one."

"It's cool Dad, as long as you are being honest this isn't going to effect us much, just try to keep this from getting too messy is all I'm asking."

"Of course! It's not as though I'm going to keep up this charade much longer, I've got enough on my plate as it is to be honest." the buck assured his son with a smile.

"Well now that's out of the way, I think I'm satisfied for the time being." William said before yawning.

Jack chuckled, "All this talking has made you quite winded hasn't it? I'll take my leave then."

The cat tsked, "Hmm..."

His father gave a mischievous smirk, "What? You want a kiss goodnight?"

William groaned, "Dad..."

Jack bent over and hovered his muzzle over his son's face, "Just one."

The cat tilted his head away from his dad and grimaced a little feeling his father nuzzle lovingly against his cheek, "Stop it! Why are you doing this?"

"Because as we discussed earlier, I love you. Now sleep well you hear?" Jack told his son before hopping off the bed.

"Yeah yeah..." William said settling into his nap.

Jack tucked in the cat, "Sweet dreams."

There was a moment where the rabbit was tempted to just call the rest of the day off from work and tend to his son instead, but he knew that it wouldn't be right to just abandon his post while there is plenty of work to be done first. For both his sake and his son's, Jack steeled himself internally and set his focus to once and for all apprehend the fugitive ferret.

He entered his own room, opened a drawer inside his desk and pressed a button that was located inside the drawer itself. The button activated a device that swiveled a small monitor onto the wall and with it displayed an entire map of Zootopia and the surrounding region. The buck's eye was trained on one specific part of the screen.

" _If he hasn't already figured out that I bugged him, Hunter should be at...wait a minute, it can't be."_

Jack pulled out his phone and immediately dialed a number, "Nick?"

" _Agent Savage."_ the fox replied in a rather vexed tone.

"Would you mind meeting me at St. Leo church? I've found where Hunter is holed up." he informed the ZPD officer.

He heard a sigh from Nick, " _Yeah, Judy and I will be there."_

Jack gratefully smiled, "Thank you, I'll meet you there as soon as possible." he said before hanging up.

* * *

Nick pressed the button on the steering wheel to deactivate the car's Bluetooth, "You hear that Carrots?"

Judy winked, "Sounds like we gonna finally catch the guy, it'll definitely make my week if we do!"

The fox held up his paw, "We got this."

She joined him and grabbed his paw with confidence, "After this, we're celebrating with a _lot_ of drinking."

"I like the idea fluff, good to see that you aren't afraid to let out your wild party side."

The rabbit was practically bouncing on her seat, "Well you always told me that I needed to let loose, and plus this case is definitely going to solidify our standings."

"Still, I hope it isn't a repeat of what we had when we chased down Skye." Nick reflected on the previous part of the assignment.

"It was a misunderstanding alright? I'm sure Jack and Skye smoothed over any issue that popped up between them." Judy told the fox trying to console him.

"I'm just glad this thing is going to be over soon enough." Nick said with some relief.

Judy chuckled, "It wasn't as bad as solving the Nighthowler case."

"That was because it was just us two, and despite all the troubles we when through it was...how should I say it, fun in comparison."

"Fun huh? I thought this case wasn't too bad." the doe remarked on the case so far.

Nick laid his head on the seat, "It'll be short, I'll give you that."

"I'm sure Jack will also be happy to finish the job." Judy added.

Her statement only made the fox more uncertain about working with Jack in the first place, "You know Carrots when this is over we need to have a talk."

The rabbit turned to him surprised by his proclamation, "A talk? About what?"

"I know you're thinking about hanging out with Jack when this is over. And I'm worried that it might start to hamper our work relationship if you become a thing with him later on." Nick told the rabbit.

"A thing with him? What is it with me and Jack becoming a couple that bothers you so much?"

"It doesn't bother me personally." he retorted, "But you should know that you and Jack live almost entirely different lives." the fox pointed out as he pulled off from a light.

Judy tapped her chin ready to hear Nick's explanation, "Different how? We both work in law enforcement."

"Pff, that's like saying Gazelle and a heavy metal singer are the same. Yes they both make music, but they do it with drastically different results. And it's the same with you guys, I mean at the most you're going to be busting some dinky criminal den in the middle of an old restaurant. Jack's agency has been known to topple entire _governments_." he further explained.

"So what, you're saying I can't handle being with Jack just because he's an agent?"

Nick gave a thumbs up, "Spot on fluff."

"This is stupid, you can't dictate who I can date or not, besides I'm sure Jack and I would make a great couple!" she boldly stated.

"With this determination you have, I fully expect you follow up on that goal."

"Come on Nick, stop acting like you're my Dad!" the rabbit huffed.

"Hey, I'm just looking out for you. You know how us guys tend to be picky about our relationships."

"You're a fox! You mate for life!" Judy shot back.

Nick's mischievous nature was emerging through his internal whirlwind of emotions, "True. But in general the male population has certain...expectations."

Judy crossed her arms, "I'm well aware of that Nick, the guys back home were pretty into that 'perfect obedient housewife' thing, pretty disgusting if you ask me."

"Oh? And what makes you think Jack isn't going to be like that?"

The rabbit was getting agitated by her partner's constant badgering, "I know he isn't that kind of buck, besides it's probably not even going to happen anyways."

His ears perked up, "Hmm? And why is that?"

"He's..." she sighed, "Dating Skye."

The fox could feel a burst of relief inside him but strained himself to control it, "Really now? Now that's interesting..."

"Please don't think of him as some kind of scumbag just because he happened to kiss me while he was with Skye!" Judy begged.

" _Too late for that..._ Come on now Carrots, it was just a kiss. Well now that Jack's off the market what are you going to do now?"

Judy shrugged, "I don't know, probably just keep doing my job?"

"Good to hear, some people would have a hard time with this sort of revelation you know." Nick told the rabbit.

The doe looked down, "Yeah, I guess..."

"Hey, cheer up. Listen, we'll nab this Hunter dude, wrap up any loose ends with Jack and Skye and then we'll go back to our normal routine, but of course being held in higher regards among our peers." he said nudging her.

"And what about you? Are you going to treat Jack nicely or am I going to have to assume that's out of the question?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

Nick looked straight at the road, "I'll treat him as I would with any other officer of the law and no more than that." he flatly stated.

Judy was exasperated by the return of Nick's stubbornness, "I honestly thought that you had gotten along with him. It seemed that way while you two were drunk out of your minds causing a mess in my house."

"Let's just focus on the task ahead alright? We'll talk about this after." Nick told her.

She frowned, "Fine, but don't think I'll let this slide."


	39. Chapter 38

_**Some violence in this chapter, beyond that not much to mention. Enjoy!**_

 _"Hey Skye."_

 _"Yeah?"_

 _"Where did that ferret go? What's his name, Walker?"_

 _"Oh...he left."_

 _"Left? Why?"_

 _"You know the reason why Jack."_

 _"Oh, right. Did he happen to say anything before he went?"_

 _"All he said was 'I'm sorry for what's going to happen Skye'."_

 _"Well isn't that fucking ominous."_

 _"Jack..."_

* * *

"Let's see, the church should be just down this street to the right." Jack muttered to himself as he decided to park his car in a hidden spot in order to prevent any harm to it that may hinder a potential escape route.

The agent was familiar with the location already so there wasn't much difficulty in actually getting to the church itself, however despite the church being located in the south of the Meadowlands there was a noted absence of people in the area which didn't help the anxiety that the buck was currently experiencing.

Since it was also raining, Jack opted to dress up in his gray hoodie and dark blue jeans rather than going in his usual agent attire which would be sullied from the rain and would require him to dry iron it later on. Admittedly he didn't feel particular legitimate whenever he was undertaking any assignment in such casual attire, but given the situation at the moment he decided not to worry too much about image.

" _All I would need to do is find a good vantage point, and tranquilize Hunter with the dart gun without him knowing that I was here in the first place, makes it much easier for all of us. Hopefully by the time I subdued him, Judy and Nick should be here ready to take him to the precinct."_

Given the surrounding environment, there wasn't any obvious spots where the rabbit could have an advantage in terms of height or even concealment from Hunter which would make the intended course of action even more difficult for the agent to undertake.

He internally debated what would be the best strategy, " _Maybe if I hide in the grass he won't hear me. But he's a ferret, that's his specialty. I can't take him head on, God knows what he's prepared in case I've decided to show up without an invitation."_

To remain silent, Jack kept in contact with the police officers via text, he recently received one from Judy indicating that they were in the area and were ready for additional instructions from him.

" _Remain at least a few hundred yards from the church. Can't have Hunter seeing you two here."_ he told Judy.

Her reply came quickly after he sent it, " _W_ _e'll be nearby, be careful."_

Jack smiled a little seeing that Judy still was concerned for him, " _Thanks."_

Despite the dot on his smartwatch telling him that Hunter was located inside the church itself there was no sight of the ferret anywhere, even the church itself in general appeared to have been abandoned for a while.

Deciding to take the risk, the buck entered through the side of the church in order to try to stake out where Hunter was. Gun drawn he peeked around the corner of the hallway that led to the nave itself.

There wasn't a single sound inside the church save for a sound of raindrops that petered on the rooftop itself, this only made the buck more frustrated.

The old Jack inside yelled at him to call out the ferret, " _Come on Jack, find that little tosser and off him!"_

He exhaled and aimed his gun down the aisles, "Where are you..." he muttered to himself trying to spot any movement inside the church itself.

Jack heard some distant footsteps and immediately turned to the source, "Alright Hunter, show yourself so I can make this quick! I'm already tired of these stupid games you're peddling right now!"

" _You still don't get it do you?"_ Hunter's voice echoed through the hollow interior.

The agent pointed his dart gun to where he presumed where Hunter was at, "If you turn yourself in peacefully I won't be forced to lethal measures."

" _Still a hot shot..."_

Suddenly there was a loud bang and an explosion of wood right behind Jack immediately informing him that the ferret wasn't intending towards any kind of peaceful resolution.

Jack pulled out his pistol, "Damn it Hunter! People like you always makes things more difficult than they should be!"

Another bullet pierced the floor just inches away from his foot, forcing the buck to dash into hiding behind a bench quickly loading his pistol.

" _Fuck you Jack! Behind the facade you call being an agent you're nothing more than a bloodthirsty hoodlum, just like the rest of the ZBI!"_ the ferret yelled out from an ambiguous position.

Jack should've known better than to reason with a person hell bent on revenge for his brother's death, "Guess I have no choice then."

The buck took into account the location and positioning of how the bullets were delivered his way, with a couple of more shots he was able to deduce where the ferret was firing his gun from.

"Last chance Hunter! Cease fire or suffer the consequences!" Jack warned for the final time.

" _So what? So that you can shoot me and use your stupid tiny rabbit paws to dig a grave right next to my brother's and dump my body in there? You're mistaken old friend!"_ Hunter spat with venom in his tongue.

Jack realized that the reason why the ferret was here was because he was visiting his brother's grave, "Ah, so that's why you're here." he spoke out slightly pained.

" _It'll be sweet poetic justice to end your reign of terror inside the very place where I had to bury him!"_

The rabbit took a quick glance down the aisle, the foreboding symbol that was both foreign and also familiar, clearly a religious symbol representing what apparently the ferret followed.

" _I know you have a child Jack, imagine if I killed him. Don't tell me you wouldn't be on the same path as me!"_

Jack felt this familiar surge of guilt and anger swell inside him, it hurt him inside knowing that he was right. If William was murdered by Hunter, the buck would be on a unstoppable crusade to end the life of someone who dared to kill someone most dear to him.

"Perhaps, but this isn't about my son. It's about you, you think I'm doing it because I just want another kill under my belt, but the reality is that you pose a threat to people's lives, directly and indirectly through your funding of that predator supremacy group."

The ferret's response was a shot that just barely grazed the rabbit's right arm, causing him to flinch as the brief spike of pain overtook his thought process.

Jack aimed at the spot where he speculated the fugitive was shooting from and pulled the trigger, after a second there was a pained cry confirming the location of the ferret.

"Are you done now?" Jack asked getting a little irritated at the ferret's continued resistance.

The bullets stopped and there was no response from the ferret, just some footsteps running off in the distance, causing him to sigh in annoyance.

He grabbed his phone and dialed Judy's number in which she immediately picked it up, " _Did you find him?"_

"He's on the move, surround the perimeter of the church as well as you can, he's armed so be extremely cautious!" he instructed her.

" _Right! We'll get him!"_ she assured the buck before hanging up.

Jack dashed out the front doors of the church, by now the raining was pouring down hard and visibility was poor.

He desperately looked around for any sign of the ferret, but again it looked like Hunter was able to make a getaway.

The buck fell to his knees on the cobbled walkway and resisted the urge to shout out into the open world in despair, " _No, please not this again.._ _."_

His phone vibrated, "Officer Hopps."

" _We can't find him, it's too foggy out to see anything."_ the doe told him in an apologetic tone.

Jack shook his head, "It is not your fault, meet me at the front of the church."

" _Okay."_ she affirmed him before once again hanging up.

The buck readjusted himself into a sitting position and looked down into the gray landscape, trying not to think too hard about what he could've done differently in order to catch the elusive ferret. Forcing himself to calm down he closed his eyes, " _One...two...three...four..."_

Forcing himself to think happier thoughts his mind briefly recalled a memory of him sharing an ice cream with his son, the pleasant recollection helped the agent a calmer state of mind.

After a moment to himself, he heard the police cruiser pull up near him, " _I hope they aren't too disappointed in me."_

The car door open and Judy rushed out towards him, "Jack!"

Jack's face was partially covered by his fur due to the amount of water that it held, but he managed a small smile for the doe, "Fancy meeting you here Officer Hopps."

She looked down to his arm and gasped, "Your arm! It's bleeding!"

The buck covered the spot, "It's nothing."

Nick soon joined Judy and crouched down to the destitute looking rabbit, "Looking rough Agent Savage, you need any help?"

"I can manage just fine, thank you Nick." Jack said with the most politeness he could muster.

Despite the buck's civil assurance, Nick found himself quite annoyed by the agent's reluctance for assistance, "Come on Jack, you're looking terrible right now."

Judy held Jack's paw, "Do you want us to take you to the hospital?"

He shook his head, "It's just a scratch, nothing a little cleansing and bandage wouldn't fix."

The buck stood up, "I'm sorry for failing you both, Hunter was able to make his escape yet again."

Judy's grip on his paw tightened, "Please, no more blaming yourself." she pleaded.

Her gentle nature towards the buck didn't mesh well with Nick's current opinion of Jack, but the fox knew it wasn't the best time to try to start something with the already downtrodden agent.

Jack looked up and met with Judy's eyes, those same glowing eyes and warm smile that he found so beautiful back at the hospital helped to raise his spirits, "Y-Yes. I agree, I can't continue to beat myself down."

Judy couldn't help but be taken in by Jack's current appearance, where as before he had the professional ZBI agent with his pressed suit the hoodie and jeans showed a different side of Jack, without the suit and sunglasses to shield the agent from his true personality the more casual outfit helped to expose the buck for what he really was.

Nick frowned at the fact that Jack and Judy were staring at each other so intently, "Ahem, Carrots."

The doe looked towards him in embarrassment, "O-Oh right. Sorry Jack, I guess I forgot about you and Skye."

Jack continued to smile, "It's alright, no harm done right?"

He checked his smartwatch, "He's still close, we should give chase."

"Where's he headed?" Nick asked trying to peek at the buck's device.

"Heading due northwest, but there isn't any particular location I can think of where he could seek refuge." Jack told the two still looking intently at the screen.

The fox smirked, "So let's chase the dude down."

"He's carrying a lethal weapon Nick, it wouldn't be wise to try to engage in a firefight particularly when the weather isn't exactly on our side." Jack noted as the rain continued to pour down on the group.

Judy puffed, "There's gotta be something we can do! We've gone so far, we can't quit now!"

The buck's foot began to tap on the ground, "Have any ideas then?"

"Can we at least get inside the car? I'm starting to freeze over here." Nick complained as his police uniform stuck to his fur, causing him to lose body heat.

The three quickly jumped inside the cruiser, "Sorry about the divider." Judy apologized to the buck.

"Heh, I could pass for a common criminal with this look huh?" Jack quipped pointing out his raggedly looking outfit.

Nick couldn't help but smile a little at the buck's self deprecating joke, "Hey if you weren't an agent we would've been pretty quick to lock you up with what just happened earlier."

Judy smacked his shoulder warningly, "Nick..."

"What? It's the truth!" the fox countered back rubbing the sore spot.

"Anyways, since I have Hunter's location, we can still follow him." Jack informed the officers.

"Can we chase him down with our car?" Judy asked.

The buck looked around, "Hmm, to be fair the terrain looks a little too rough for this type of vehicle."

Nick held the steering wheel tightly, "Too bad we didn't bring the SUV huh?"

Jack shrugged, "Oh well, we'll make do with what we got."

"It's up to you Jackie." Nick stated.

" _Jackie?_ Alright Nick, take the road down here, it should keep us relatively close to Hunter." Jack instructed the officer.

"10-4." Nick affirmed before setting off in the direction that the buck told him to follow.

"What about your own car?" Judy asked wondering what Jack's planning right now.

The buck chuckled a little, "It'll be fine, nobody's going to try to touch it, the alarm itself can be heard for miles."

Even with the fog lights and the high beams on, the fox was struggling to maintain a clear line of vision of the road, "I feel like I'm going to crash into a ditch or something."

His partner remained in a attentive state, "You're fine, I can see the side of the road from here. Just keep going where Jack tells you."

The fox nodded, "Cool. So Jack..."

The agent perked up, "Hmm? What is it?"

"I notice the absence of a certain kitty." Nick pointed out with a hint of teasing.

"Oh. He's in bed right now." Jack answered still looking at his smartwatch.

Judy turned around, "Is he sick?" she asked worried about his son's health.

The agent appreciated her concern, "Thank you for asking that but he's doing okay, just had trouble sleeping last night that's all. You know how teenagers are."

"That's good, it may have been in hindsight better to keep him at home huh?" the doe asked.

"Definitely, I couldn't risk William getting caught in the firefight."

Nick stopped the car suddenly, "Wait...I think I see something."

In the distance there was an outline of a person just over the top of a hill, "Think it might be him?"

Jack's nose twitch in anticipation, "Only one way to find out."

The three exited the vehicle and thanks to the tall grass were able to keep out of potential sight.

"Augh, it's muddy!" Nick complained feeling his paw pads underneath getting soaked.

Judy shushed her partner's complaints, "Shh! We can't let Hunter hear us!"

Jack aimed his gun at the figure but wasn't able to maintain a clear sight down the line, "Damn, I need to get closer."

"Come on, we can hide down in the bushes over there." Judy pointed out a row of large bushes adjacent to an old wooden fence.

Jack nodded, "Alright."

After they hid behind the bush the buck started to decipher how close he needed to be able to get a clear shot at the ferret, "It's still too foggy, I can't tell for sure if that's Hunter or not, but I'm afraid if I get too close he'll get me first before I could get him."

"This sounds like a pretty risky idea, but how about we just split up into three, and from different positions just shoot at him so that he gets overwhelmed?" Nick suggested.

Jack nodded, "That's smart thinking Nick, he can't possibly take on all three of us."

"I don't know, what if one of us gets shot? It'll be hard to come to the rescue if we stray too far from each other." Judy spoke out.

"Then I'll drop everything immediately and make a dash for you two. I much prefer keeping you both alive, and even if that means letting him get away than so be it." Jack told them.

Nick nodded, "Same, as an officer of the ZPD it is my duty to protect others."

The doe saluted proudly, "You can count on me as well!"

Jack smiled and laid out his paw, "Let's put this case to bed eh?"

Nick and Judy laid their own paws on his, "And break!" Judy yelled out as they all lifted their paws.

The fox pointed towards his walkie talkie, "Keep tabs with me Carrots."

She gave a thumbs up, "Got it. I'll use my phone for Jack."

The buck held both of their shoulders, "Be careful, Hunter isn't going to take any survivors if he can help it." he told them both before taking off in an easterly direction.

Nick shrugged, "Well, I guess I'll be going around."

"Stay safe Slick." Judy told the fox.

The fox held his pistol, "Don't need to say it twice fluff. It'll be over before you know it." he said with his signature confidence before also disappearing into the fog.

Judy took a deep breath, "Hopefully he's right."

Meanwhile the agent slowly walked closer to the shadowy figure at the top of the hill, " _Easy Jack, he's probably armed to the teeth right now. One false move and it's over."_

As the buck slowly approached, he could hear distinct sounds apart from the pouring rain, " _Sounds like him."_

With every step he took the anxiety within him continued to build up, threatening to reach a critical level.

" _I can't shoot until I know for sure if that's Hunter."_

He knew that the risk of being spotted by the ferret increased quickly with every foot he came closer, but Jack had to be ready for anything to happen.

" _I hope Nick and Judy are ready, this could get pretty ugly quickly."_

The buck made mental notes to find any locations where he could find sufficient coverage from potential gunfire. Meanwhile the hill continued to get steeper as the buck climbed, this combined with the muddy terrain and the unrelenting rainfall conspired to make it increasingly difficult for the agent to make progress up the hill.

" _How can Hunter have made it up this hill so quickly? This is starting to hurt my legs, I should've gone to the gym more..."_ Jack lamented as his body began to object more to the constant climbing.

To the relief of the buck, by the time he was almost at the top he could make out that it was indeed the ferret that he was looking for, " _Let's make this quick."_

He crouched down to hide himself in the tall grass and took aim at the ferret's head, right when his finger was about to squeeze the trigger he heard Hunter making particular sounds.

" _Is he crying_ _? What is he going on about now? No Jack, don't let emotions cloud your judgement! End him!"_

His mind raced in opposite directions; one told him to go for the kill, the other told him to investigate the reason why the ferret was crying. After a brief, intense battle the latter won out.

Jack took several cautious steps closer to Hunter with his gun still aiming right for his head, "Hunter?" he called out.

The ferret sniffed, "Fuck me."

"I'm holding a Glock 19M that's pointed right to your skull. If you move an inch, I'll put a bullet right through your head." Jack warned.

The buck noticed the lack of a weapon on Hunter's person which made Jack assume that he ran out of ammo from the previous exchange of bullets.

"Fine, you win. I thought I was going to be able to shoot you down, but it doesn't seem like the case." Hunter admitted in defeat.

Jack noticed the blood stain on Hunter's left thigh, "Looks like you sustained an injury, quite impressive you made it up this rather large hill."

"What's it to you? Aren't you going to kill me?" Hunter spat out covering his wound.

Jack shook his head, "No. You have no weapon on you and you have a debilitating injury. If you no longer pose a threat to my safety, than there is no sense in killing you."

The agent's proclamation only served to further enrage the ferret, "What? Kill me now, you got your chance you psychopath!"

"Disregard any pretenses of that notion. I'm saying it now, I'm not killing you." Jack stated with finality.

The ferret struggled to stand up, but howled in pain as his leg wound effectively disabled his left leg, "Damn it!" he cried out.

Jack holstered his gun and brought out his cuffs, "You're under arrest for conspiracy to murder, violation of Zootopia hate speech law, drug trafficking, and money laundering." he told the ferret listing out his warrants.

Hunter laid his head back, "So, that's how you choose to play it huh?"

The buck texted Judy to let her know that Hunter was no longer a threat and he was ready to be taken into custody.

"Why did you kill him?" Hunter said hanging down his head.

Jack knew instantly who he was referring to, "It's complicated."

"That's your answer? It was _complicated?"_ Hunter growled.

Jack forcefully turned the ferret on his side and gripped his paws together, "It is classified information."

The buck successfully cuffed the ferret's paws together, "Classified information? I was an agent of the ZBI! Why didn't you tell me before?"

"It wasn't something that you had a say in." Jack merely stated.

The ferret continued to growl, "Who decided that my brother had to die? Was it you and that puny mouse you call a boss?"

Jack remained silent leaving only Hunter to further elaborate on his grievances, "I knew prey like you can't be trusted, you always resort to dirty tactics in order to make your way up in the food chain. You're an absolute poor excuse for a father, I'm surprised your son hasn't already run off!"

It was taking all of the buck's patience to not retaliate, "I'll be escorting you to ZBI headquarters to place you in protective custody, whatever you say can be used against you in federal court. You have the right to a lawyer if you cannot afford one, one will be provided to you."

The ferret scowled, "I wish rabbits like you were dead, if my leg wasn't fucked up I would've happily rip your body asunder."

Judy eventually was able to catch up with Jack, "You got him?"

"I did. I'll be handling him personally to the ZBI, where they'll debrief me and that'll be that I suppose." Jack shrugged.

"So, it's over?" Judy asked in a hopeful tone.

The buck nodded, "Seems so."

The doe instantly burst into excitement and even hopped slighty, "Yes! I can't believe it!"

Hunter sat there fuming, "Stupid bunnies."

Judy grabbed Jack's paws, "I'm so happy right now!"

"I am too Judy, and I couldn't have done it without your help...and Nick's of course." he added quickly.

Her beaming smile seemed to instantly melt all of Jack's worries away, in a way it confirmed to him that it was indeed over.

"Judy I can't thank you enough for all the things you did for me. Words cannot express how grateful I am truly." Jack said still holding her paws.

The doe noticed that he was still doing so and blushed a little, "Um...heh, it's been cool." she said with some awkwardness.

Even in the heavy rain, Jack felt like a heavy weight was lifted off his shoulders, "You know I have something to confess."

The doe tilted her head, "What?"

Jack fidgeted as struggled to find the words to speak to her, "I..."

"Carrots?"

The two rabbits turned to find Nick standing there with a frown on his face, "Nick!" she immediately forced her paws away from Jack's, "This isn't what it looks like!"

Nick walked around the two, "Really fluff? Because to me, it's _exactly_ what it looks like."

The buck noticed that the fox's eyes looked different, they seemed more predatory, "Look Nick, we've captured Hunter alright? The case is done, we don't need to fight anymore!"

Hunter darkly laughed, "Touched a nerve haven't you Savage? You seem to have a habit of making enemies out of people you work with."

"Shut up." Nick growled at the ferret.

Judy stood in between Nick and Jack, "Nick this isn't you! You're not thinking straight!"

"I'm just tired of this little asshole trying to take advantage of you. Next thing you know he's going to try to seduce you and get into your pants." the fox snarled.

Jack adamantly waved his paws in denial, "Those aren't my intentions I promise you."

The fox bared his sharp teeth, "After today, I don't want to see you with her ever again." he warned the buck pointing at him.

"What? Nick you're not making any sense, stop acting like this!" Judy said in shock over the fox's sudden change of attitude.

"Don't you see you dumb bunny? This fox obviously knows that Jack is a scumbag, he's waking up to the fact that people like him are in fact inferior." Hunter boasted.

Nick groaned and held his forehead, "My fucking head..."

Judy reached out to him, only for Nick to reject her outreach, "Don't touch me!"

"Nick! Stop this immediately!" Jack warned him grabbing his arm.

The fox let out an feral growl and his fur bristled, "Get your mangy paws away from me!"

Suddenly Nick snapped at Jack and nearly landed a bite on his arm, just missing by inches.

Jack instinctively pulled out his pistol in self-defense, "Enough Officer Wilde."

The fox pulled back, "You wouldn't fucking dare."

"Try me."

Nick made several indecisive expressions in his face before he turned around and ran down the hill away from the rest of the group.

Jack was in disbelief over what just happened, but Judy in comparison was downright horrified, "It must've been those drugs that Hunter put inside him, that's gotta be the reason why Nick's acting so aggressively!" the doe told Jack.

"We can't leave him unsupervised, if it's anything like the Nighthowlers there's a risk he may turn completely feral."

"I'll go after him, maybe I can calm him down enough to get him to the doctors so that they can help him." Judy suggested.

"I have a feeling that if the hospital wasn't able to remove the drug's effects, then just administering him to a doctor isn't going to do much either. We need to find an antidote like the city government did for the Nighthowlers."

"But take could take days!" Judy objected, "He could lose control over himself anytime!"

Jack looked at her with remorse, "I'm sorry Judy but there isn't much we can do right now and I still have to hand Hunter over to the ZBI."

The doe's eyes were beginning to water, "But Nick..."

"Please don't become upset Judy, look if it makes you feel better take him to the doctor. And while Nick is getting the care he needs you can come over to my workplace so that you can receive your thanks from Mr. Carter okay?"

Judy sniffed, "Okay."

"Good, I'll be waiting over there for you to arrive. Make sure that Nick doesn't do anything in the meantime."

Jack gave the doe a hug, which she gladly accepted before she let go and went to chase after her partner. Meanwhile Jack turned to the captured fugitive, "And for you, you're going to have to answer a lot of questions."

"Go to hell." Hunter growled.

The agent groaned as he lifted the ferret up, "Already there Walker."


	40. Chapter 39

_**Considering the background context of the story during the time this chapter takes place in, this chapter will focus solely on Jack and Judy. Enjoy!**_

"Well, quite the adventure you had Jack." Mr. Carter asked sitting at a table with a group of supervisors acting as a panel.

Jack was sitting across the room with his legs crossed, "I would say so."

"Carter has provided a brief overview of your assignment, I must say you have done an excellent job." one of the panelists said with praise.

"Thank you Mrs. Somerset." the buck said nodding at the lioness.

She took another look at the document, "According to the file, it also states that you received assistance from Officer Nicholas Wilde and Officer Judith Hopps of the ZPD."

"That is correct." the agent answered with a small smile.

The lioness raised an eyebrow, "Are they not here? We would like to extend our congratulations and thanks to them as well."

"I'm afraid that Officer Wilde will not be able to make it, and as for Officer Hopps I would like to believe that she'll be here later today." he answered looking behind for a moment.

The panelists conversed among themselves for a moment before they nodded, "Agent Savage, we've been impressed by your consistent quality of service as an agent of the ZBI. We would like to take this opportunity today to propose something." the possum told the rabbit.

Jack's ears perked up, "Yes sir?"

Mr. Carter gave a proud smile, "We would like for you to have a say in your department's operations since you have gained so much experience over the years."

The agent froze in his chair, "Wait, does that mean?"

The mouse nodded, "It is, congratulations Jack, we're officially promoting you to the Board of the Intelligence Department."

Jack was at a loss of words, "That's, oh wow..."

His superior winked, "It's alright Jack, I was the same way when I learned I was promoted into my current position. Oh, by the way this is effective next week."

Jack collected himself and stood proudly, "I'll accept this offering and will perform to the best of my abilities." he stated in his utmost respectful manner.

"I would hope so, you've been more or less the star agent of this agency since you joined us." The lioness told the agent.

Mr. Carter tapped his pen on the table, "Well, I guess this concludes our little meeting. Excellent work Jack, I can't wait to see you in your new spiffy title!" he said hopping off the miniature chair.

"Will do, I'll be in my office to start typing up the full report then." the buck told his supervisor.

The mouse chuckled, "Sounds good, I'm expecting something beautiful. Oh, Agent Reese, you mind escorting me to my office?"

"No problem Carter." the mongoose said before carrying the mouse in his paw.

Internally the rabbit sighed, " _This is going to take a while to write."_

After purchasing a coffee from the vending machine he settled into his chair and booted up the computer, "Well, let's get busy." he said to himself cracking his knuckles.

Despite the rabbit's reputation as a top notch agent he felt that the worst part of his job was writing these tedious and lengthy reports, he could feel every minute drag by as he would need to think about the right vocabulary in order to appropriately meet what the agency expected of him.

With just one hour and four pages typed down, Jack was about ready to give up, " _Oh God, if I have to type one more letter..."_

He heard a knock on his door which immediately signaled to the agent that his guest arrived, "Y-Yes, uh...a minute!"

The buck frantically started to clean up his cluttered office, "Just a moment, please let me just, oh for fuck's sake...there! You may come in."

The door opened revealing the smiling officer, "Hey Jack." Judy greeted him still wearing her police uniform.

Even if it has been only a few hours since the two separated at the hill, he was glad to be able to see her again.

The buck sat still with his paws together on the table with a friendly smile, "It's good to see that you made it Judy."

The doe looked around with some admiration, "This is a pretty nice little space you got."

"It's not much, but I do call it my own." Jack said shrugging.

Judy sat down on the chair across from him, "Thanks for letting me come here."

The buck nodded, "Of course, um, how is Nick faring?"

The officer's demeanor instantly turned gloomy, "He's not talking to me."

Jack was afraid of this happening, "Could you please explain to me what exactly happened?"

"He was already in the car when I got there and he was sitting in the passenger's seat, I mean he just wasn't his usual self. He didn't say a single word to me no matter what I told him, and when we finally arrived at the station he went to his cubicle and ignored me."

"I'm so sorry Judy, if I had known that Nick would've reacted the way he did." he said burying his face into his paws.

"No, it's my fault for letting this happen. I should've been more honest with Nick since the beginning but I wasn't acting rational at all and now I think he hates me." the doe explained sniffing and shaking her head.

Jack got off his chair and ran over to her, "I can't stand seeing you like this, you're Officer Judy Hopps, the first rabbit to ever serve in the ZPD. You've solved the Nighthowler case and helped solved my own case too. Seeing you cry feels so wrong, I know you're much stronger than this."

The doe felt his paw graze her cheek, "I can't do this without Nick."

"I'm sure he'll come around sooner or later, he can't stay mad at you forever." Jack said attempting to console her.

She looked straight at him with tears in her eyes, "But what if he doesn't?"

The buck smiled reassuringly, "He will, I know that he cares a lot for you. I'll even keep my distance if that'll help any."

"What? I don't want you to do that!" she objected.

Jack's smile remained but with hints of pain behind it, "I doubt Nick will think the same, I'll remain in contact with you of course, but-"

Judy cut him off with a firm kiss, and after brief contact between their lips she let go.

Letting go the doe took a deep breath, "There, that's how much I want you to stay."

With his heart beating quite rapidly from that unexpected encounter between them Jack looked around making sure there were no bystanders taking a peek at the two and after seeing that the coast was clear he turned his attention back to Judy, "Listen Judy...I want to tell you what I didn't get to back at the Meadowlands."

"What is it?" Judy asked.

He held her paws, "I love you, Judy Hopps."

Judy began to speak her concerns, "But-"

He shook his head, "No more running from it, my heart keeps telling me that you are the one. I kept running from it because I was afraid...afraid of what would happen if I went down this particular path. But after the past few days, I changed my mind, I want to be with you."

"You said this before though. How is it different this time?" she asked a little confused by his declaration.

"Before I wasn't too sure about whether or not I did actually hold fondness for you but now I can definitely say that I do. I doubted my personal feelings for you as some kind of silly crush, but after how much we've been through together I feel it is something real."

She looked down, "Yeah, but Skye..."

"That's what makes this so hard in the first place."

"It sounds childish, but this isn't really fair." Judy said.

He sighed, "I know, and in a way I felt I was too hasty in getting back together Skye. It feels wrong to express any kind of regret, but what's done is done."

The doe could feel something approaching jealously towards Skye for being with Jack instead of her, "Maybe if I was more persistent, things could've been different."

"Certainly a possibility, but I can't say that I would've been more receptive to your advances to be honest."

"Are you saying that before you weren't open to the idea of us together?" she asked.

The agent looked away feeling a little embarrassed, "It may have been more denial than merely not being attracted to you."

"What kept you back?"

"I didn't want to risk damaging our partnership just because our feelings got in the way. But it wasn't at any point because I didn't fancy you just to be clear." Jack clarified.

She blushed a little hearing that fact, "That's pretty reassuring to hear."

Jack didn't want the moment between them to end so soon and took the initiative seek out a little more, "And with that, I would like to return the favor."

"What favor?"

The buck wrapped his arms around her chest, "This."

His lips dove into her and now this time it was the doe's turn to be surprised at this unexpected burst of passion by the buck. Unlike his first kiss with her that was brief and uncertain, this one had more purpose behind it as if to show how much more Jack was certain about his love for her. The kiss soon evolved into an extended session of exchanges, brief pauses to catch their breath and back into indulgence.

"W-Wow...that was amazing." Judy said in awe of his commitment towards making an impression on her.

Jack couldn't resist a smirk on his face, "I assume you know I'm not exactly lacking in experience?" he said making his point by lowering his paws down to her lower back.

Her eyelids dropped a little as she became more enamored with him, "I would like to share those experiences with you."

"You're really trying to make the most of this aren't ya?" Jack said with his arms still wrapped around her.

She giggled, "Maybe~"

The buck was amused by her lighthearted teasing and planted another kiss on her lips, "You're not helping the stereotypes of our species, that's for sure."

"Come on, can you blame me for being like this?" Judy said rubbing herself on his chin.

Jack wanted to chuckle but held it back, "This is rather forward even for you."

She pulled his tie and had a seductive expression on her face, "I just wanna get to know you better."

He gulped as the sight of the lusty doe internally excited his primal mating instincts, "That's all well and good, but I'm not sure if it's even feasible to get away with anything in the office."

At this point the doe was ready for things to get rolling, "No one will know Jack. It'll be just us, alone." she emphasized with a deeper than usual tone with her paw getting close to his belt buckle.

If it weren't for the fact that they were in a public area the agent would've been more than willing to help satisfy her desires and the battle between his rationality and his own burning lust for the doe raged inside his mind. The buck didn't want her to see it but he could feel himself getting erect from the 'attention' that she was giving, "Judy, there's others near us. I don't want to start a scandal, word travels fast here." he warned still keeping a lookout towards the door.

The doe saw that Jack wasn't in the mood and realizing her mistake she let go of him, "Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't want to cause any trouble just because of me being stupid!"

"If you keep it down then nothing's going to happen, I just don't want either of us to get in trouble just because we're feeling a little amorous. Besides I'm the one who should be apologizing, I should be smarter than to try to take advantage of the fact that you're here." Jack said disappointed in his own recent actions.

She wanted to bang her head against the wall, "This was a bad idea, I was so stupid thinking we could've gotten away with doing...it."

It finally struck her what just happened, her and Jack were a whisker's away from having sex in his office room and if it weren't for Jack's insistence of the risks in doing so the doe would've been on the desk ready for him to rock her world right about now.

Judy feeling quite flustered at the sudden change in mood decided to change the subject quickly, "Um, so what happened to Hunter?"

The buck sat back down in his chair, "Ahem, well he's in what can be basically be summed up as a holding room."

"Are you going to interrogate him?" she asked wondering how the ZBI's process worked.

He shook his head, "No, that's someone else job. Now that I think of it, I wonder who got assigned."

The buck in his still aroused state found it difficult to maintain eye contact with her without him trying to peek at her rather tight uniform, "A-Anyways, Mr. Carter wanted to see you in his office to personally send his congratulations."

Judy nodded, "Okay, is now a good time?"

He gave a nervous smile, "Um...let me ask him to see."

"Can't we just go to his office and ask?" the doe suggested rather confused at the agent's behavior.

"It would be rude to just intrude into his room without prior permission." Jack countered trying to buy some time to calm his body down.

The agent felt that he could no longer be alone with her without the risk of them getting too close.

The doe watched as he began texting on his phone, presumably to ask his boss if it was fine to bring her to his office.

"Are you still mad about the last time I met with him?" Judy questioned remembering the buck's rather cold reception.

"No, and it was very rude for me to act as I did before." he stated apologetically.

She crossed her arms, "You hurt my feelings." she said with some sarcasm in her voice.

Jack caught on to her game and went along with it, "Oh so terribly sorry my dear Judith, perhaps a nice bottle of champagne will help to calm those nerves?"

Her face lit up, "You have champagne?"

He opened one of his drawers and pulled out a small rabbit-sized bottle, "I always keep one in case a celebration is needed. Unfortunately, I have only paper cups." he said pulling out a bag of them.

"Hey, a cup is a cup right?" the doe said smiling.

"Spot on." he said popping the cork off the champagne and pouring it into the two cups.

Jack held up his cup, "Cheers, this is for Nick since he wasn't able to join today, but hopefully in the future."

Judy tapped her cup with his, "To Nick!" she cheered before taking a sip.

The doe looked at the cup, "Hmm..."

"Something the matter?" Jack asked a little concerned about her reaction to the drink.

She squinted, "Tastes a little off."

The buck sheepishly smiled, "It was on sale at a pharmacy."

After a moment of awkward silence the two burst into laughter, "Even with your cushy job you cheap out on the good stuff huh?" Judy said poking fun at the buck's frugal nature.

"I can't help it I mean I wasn't always financially stable, some habits never change." he replied to her jab.

"If Nick was here, he would've been ruthless with your cheap ways." Judy added.

The buck found himself missing the fox a little now that she brought him up, "It does sound like something that he would enjoy doing right now."

With the two back in high spirits thanks to the little joke between them, Judy felt more confident in her social abilities again.

"Maybe I should give him a call now, to see if he's calm down you know?"

Jack shrugged, "I don't see why not, just to be safe you shouldn't disclose your current location."

She nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I'll do that."

She dialed his number, and waited for him to pick up, which left Jack sitting there awkwardly trying not to screw anything up for her.

But after a moment it went straight to voicemail causing her to sigh, "Hey Nick, I was just checking up to see if you might be ready to talk, but there's no rush! Please take as much time as you need, when you're ready I'll be here. Thanks."

The doe slumped in her chair, "This sucks."

"Just give him some time. He'll hopefully calm down sufficiently enough that he'll at least listen to you."

"Aren't you going to tell William and Skye that you captured Hunter?" Judy asked.

The buck clapped his paws together, "I knew I forgot something but I doubt William's awake, even when he's doing well he can sleep the entire day away. I didn't see Skye at the house either, maybe she's off doing something on her own."

The officer gave a friendly smile, "Maybe you should call her."

Jack looked at his phone, "Maybe..."

As he was about to select her phone number, something inside told him that it wouldn't be the wisest decision to make at the moment especially when he had Judy with him right now.

He turned his phone around, "At another time. For now, since I've nothing to do except for this rubbish piece of fluff called a report, I'm going to have my well-deserved personal celebration. You in?" he asked the doe.

Judy held her cup out, "Can't say no to that!"


	41. Chapter 40

" _Won't let it get to me, won't let it get to me, won't let it-"_

Nick slammed his fists into the desk and rubbed his forehead trying not to think of what just occurred earlier in the day. Still reeling from the sight of Jack and Judy being too close for the fox's taste, he tried to remain calm on the outside in order not to elicit unwanted attention from the other officers in the precinct.

Now Nick was in a state of doubt over the bond of trust between them, he debated in his mind whether or not to continue his job solo or maybe partner up with someone else as he didn't feel like even seeing the doe at the moment. As soon as the pair arrived at the precinct, Nick instructed Judy not to talk to him or follow him to his office. Despite her objections, the doe ultimately honored his request and left for the ZBI headquarters soon after.

Luckily for him, the headache that plagued him earlier had seemed to subsided for the moment allowing him to focus on doing his paperwork.

" _I think I'm going to get a drink before I head home tonight. Judy won't be there but at least I could cool myself down a little from today. Try not to think about it_. _"_

Even with what just recently happened a small part of him wanted to apologize towards Judy for snapping at her earlier, but the rest of him still felt that she didn't deserve any sympathy for what she did.

"Hey Officer Wilde, didn't expect you to be here."

The fox turned to the person in question, "What's up Henry." he replied in a dull tone.

The wolverine recently joined the force a few weeks ago and as a result is still relatively unknown among the rest of the roster but Nick and Henry had bumped into each other a few times, since then the two have occasionally talked to each other.

"You seem down, what happened?" Henry asked leaning against the wall.

Nick sighed, "I don't know what to say Henry, I was expecting this assignment with the ZBI to be a great opportunity to advance my career and of course strengthen the bond that Judy and I had, but instead the opposite happened. We had a fallout and now we're not exactly on talking terms right now."

Henry frowned, "What? You two were the biggest reason why I decided to join the ZPD in the first place! And now you're telling me that you two guys, the poster child of prey-predator cooperation are over?"

Nick raised an eyebrow at the wolverine, "We were never in a relationship." he deadpanned.

The wolverine shook his head, "I didn't mean it like that, I meant like you two guys were going to be partners in crime...well you know except you're busting criminals."

"That was the dream, now not so much." Nick lamented.

"Do you mind if I ask what happened?"

Nick snorted, "Jack happened."

The wolverine tilted his head, "Who's Jack?"

The fox gritted his teeth, "He was _supposed_ to be a partner in this case that we were assigned to. Instead he took this opportunity to court Judy instead, with the explicit promise at the beginning that he wasn't going to do so."

"Ouch, dude sounds like a major scumbag." Henry said scratching his head.

"He is. I think I remember Judy mentioning that she was going back to the ZBI headquarters to talk to him."

Henry whistled, "You know what she really meant right?"

Nick momentarily checked his claws, "If I had to guess, I would expect something more than a 'talk' to happen between her and Jack."

"Why don't you go over there and stop Jack from trying anything then?"

The fox reclined in his chair, "Because I don't give a shit anymore. If Judy wants to have her brains fucked out of her by some asshole and then get her heart crushed when he inevitably leaves her, fine by me."

Henry was taken aback slightly by his coarse language, "So you're saying that you no longer care about her?"

Nick threw his paws up in the air, "She clearly showed me earlier that she doesn't care about my opinion, so it's only logical that she prefers to be left alone regarding her personal decisions."

"Aren't you worried that she might get into trouble with the ZPD or even Chief Bogo if she ends up dating the guy?"

Nick sarcastically chuckled, "If it didn't bother Buffalo Butt before, I doubt it's going to be a problem for him in the future. There's nothing I think that's going to make the big guy change his mind, unless..."

The fox's mischievous smirk piqued the wolverine's curiosity, "Unless what?"

Nick snapped his fingers, "The chief isn't going to be bothered about Jack and Judy being in a relationship unless it starts to affect her ability to perform her duties."

"Um, how exactly are you going to convince him of that?"

"It's a well-known and proven fact that rabbits are apt to multiply. There's no way that Judy's going to resist Jack's moves on her, it'll take just one night of them going at it and bam! Incoming litter." Nick explained to the other officer.

"You're going to say to the chief that them being together is going to risk Judy getting pregnant?"

The fox shrugged, "Judy is a star officer and a very determined bunny, but there's no way she could handle being both an officer of the law and also being a mother to who knows how many kids."

"That doesn't sound like a good idea. I'm worried that you're taking this irrationally." the wolverine said noting the fox's creeping prejudice.

"Let's just say that I tend to have trust issues with people who go back on their word. You can't say that I'm a bad person just because I take offense at this sort of thing you know. I've been through enough difficult episodes in my life to have to keep dealing with crap like this."

Henry laid a paw on the fox's shoulder, "I mean, you have every right to be mad at Officer Hopps because she betrayed your trust but you can't let it stop you from doing your job right? It's not like the city is going to stop in its tracks, there's always going to be trouble that needs sorting out and that's what we are here for."

Nick glanced at the wolverine, "So what does a rookie suggest I do to keep myself afloat?"

Henry thought on it, "Well...when something happens that gets me down, I like to focus on my hobbies or hang out with friends. You know, to keep my mind off things."

The fox nodded, "Come to think of it I haven't did anything with Finnick in a while, I wonder how he's doing right now."

"Whoever this Finnick is, I'm sure it'll be good for you to go see him if he's someone you can talk to." Henry suggested.

Nick nodded, "It does sound like a little visit is in order if I happen to see him. Thanks Henry, I appreciate the advice."

"Of course, and actually I do have a question."

The fox wasn't expecting the wolverine to have something on his own mind, "Really? Well I guess I can lend an ear."

"How do you do it? I mean what I'm asking is how did you find the determination to be such a great officer. You don't exactly strike me as the type of guy to be so good at this sort of work if you know what I mean."

Nick knew that the wolverine was referring to the fact that he didn't exactly fit the expected image of a ZPD officer, but he didn't take much offense as he taught himself to disregard such ideas.

"If you wanna know, after years of hustling on the cold, hard streets and I guess after meeting Carrots I decided that I can better serve both myself and society as a whole if I joined the force. Also the stable income was a plus too."

Henry was a little dissatisfied by his answer, "So you're saying that you did it for the money?"

"Sort of. But it was also to prove to myself and others that a fox can in fact be a positive member of the community rather than some downtrodden criminal that takes advantage of the system." Nick explained.

"Being a fox is hard huh? My species doesn't get nearly as much flak, the worst I've heard is that we tend to be overweight slobs." Henry noted the difference in treatment their species received.

"Overweight? You seem a little on the thin side." Nick pointed out.

Henry chuckled, "I've been on a pretty strict diet for the past year or so, I was a little tubby before I entered the training academy."

"Maybe you should pass on that information towards Clawhauser, dude's really nice but he's going to end up on a stretcher if he keeps munching down on the sweet stuff without any exercise."

Henry nodded in agreement, "He does seem a little out of shape."

"One of these days Bogo might have to stage an intervention about his eating habits. It won't be pretty and I assume that there's going to be a lot of tears and denial but one day he's going to have to realize that if he wants to continue serving our great city he's going to need to lose a few."

"Cheetahs are normally slim aren't they? How did Clawhauser even gained all that weight as a police officer?"

Nick shrugged, "Who knows, I guess one day he discovered his sweet tooth and now that's all he's been attending to when it comes to taking care of himself."

Henry yawned and cracked his neck, "Well I gotta get going, I'm supposed to be basically security detail at this little fundraiser thing their doing at the library."

"Sounds fun." Nick snarked.

"Eh, it's alright, free cookies and coffee, they have pretty funny guys hosting these kinds of events and I sometimes meet some familiar people from before and they're always so friendly towards me." Henry described.

"When you get there, you mind swiping some of those cookies and bring them here? Oh, and a cup of that coffee while you're at it."

Henry was amused by the fox's request, "If I remember I'll try. Catch you later then." he said before leaving.

Nick gave a two-finger salute, "Good luck."

Taking the wolverine's advice, he decided to take to the streets to patrol the surrounding area feeling that it may help calm his mind down from earlier events.

In contrast to the stormy weather at the Meadowlands, Downtown was mostly sunny and quite warm which helped to alleviate some of the emotional pressure that had built up inside him over the course of the day. With his police uniform the citizens of Zootopia greeted him mostly with respectful if slightly hesitate expressions with the occasional frown, something that Nick learned to appreciate as a sign of his status, it was better to be seen as someone with authority rather than someone who should be referred to the authorities.

The fox would occasionally glance down the back alleyways hoping to catch the sight of Finnick's van, however there was no luck in spotting the elusive vehicle.

" _Would be nice if you decided to show up buddy."_ the officer thought to himself continuing to walk down the sidewalk.

Along the way, Nick spotted a car that was parked too closely to a fire hydrant, " _What have we here? This seems right up Carrot's alley..."_

The fox sighed as the lack of the energetic doe made the normally lively task feel empty and dull, regardless he began to write the citation.

" _Wait!"_

Nick groaned, "Great, now I gotta hear yet another sob story."

He turned around, "And what is the excuse today?"

A black bear came dashing, "I still have five minutes! I checked my phone for the time!"

Nick glanced at the meter, "Really? According to this, it's expired."

The fox noticed that the black bear was wearing what seemed to be a sparkling golden suit, "What's with the get up? I didn't realize the circus was in town today."

The bear shook his head, "What? No, I'm hosting a variety TV show in an hour, but..." he looked towards the meter.

Nick rolled his eyes, "You're some kind of TV host but you can't afford a measly parking ticket?

"Well when you put it like that." The bear muttered realizing his error.

Without Judy around to help smooth out the situation, it was up to Nick's wit and dry sense of humor to try to salvage it.

"Alright Mr. TV Host, tell me, what kind of show are you doing then?" Nick asked figuring it wouldn't hurt to see what was going on in the city.

The bear cleared his throat, "Well as you must know, today's subject was going to be about mental health and how to assist those in need."

"Hmm, sounds interesting. Not interesting enough to get out of a ticket unfortunately." the fox said shrugging.

"Come on!" the host began to whine.

Nick wasn't in the mood to deal with objections, "The law's the law, without it Zootopia would be paradise for people of the anarchistic type if you get my drift."

"Ugh, fine..." the bear reluctantly accepted the ticket slip, "You know now that I think about it, normally in this part of the city doesn't that one bunny do the ticketing?"

The bear's mention of Judy delivered a sudden burst of irritation in the fox, "Listen bud, Officer Hopps isn't available right now to be the shoulder to cry on for your own personal problems. You're going to accept the ticket, got it?"

"Whoa, easy there I understand how this works alright? I was just trying to-"

The officer sternly shook his head, "I said no excuses. Now please drive your vehicle out of this spot sir."

The TV host grumbled as he entered his vehicle, "I expected a friendlier attitude from Zootopia's 'finest'."

Nick was getting tired of the bear, "I'm not some kind of retail worker that you can push around. I'm here to enforce the law, not to attend to your personal needs."

"You don't need to be so abrasive about it! Any grumpier and I would've thought that you just broke up with someone."

Nick's ear twitched and started to bare his sharp teeth, "You done?"

The bear saw that he angered the fox somewhat and smiled nervously, "S-Sorry, I'm gone!" he said before starting the engine and speeding off.

His words stuck around in his mind, "Broke up...why do they keep thinking we were a couple?"

After a while the fox began to feel the creeping boredom overtake him and now he was secretly hoping for any crime to occur so that he could spring into action.

Passing by a dry cleaner, Nick spotted a person inside that looked very familiar, "Wait, is that?"

He entered inside the building, "Skye?"

The arctic vixen turned to him and smiled, "Oh what's up Nick? How have you been doing?"

He didn't expect to bump into her, "I'm doing okay. And you?"

She waved her paw, "Eh, decent."

"You picking up some dry cleaning?" Nick asked sitting down next to her.

The vixen nodded, "Yup, didn't want to bother doing my laundry at Jack's place, would take too much time."

Skye's mentioning of Jack served to sour the other fox's mood, "Listen, about Jack..."

"Hold that thought, my number came up." she said pointing out the screen.

Nick sat there watching her complete her transaction with the cashier unsure whether or not to break the news, " _She deserves to know, but how do I explain it to her so that I don't get hurt in the process?"_

Skye returned with what looked to be a blue dress inside the plastic, "Came out looking good huh?"

"It does, what is it for?" Nick asked wondering why the vixen was in possession of it.

She chuckled, "Something I like to wear when I need to be formal. Got it from my mom for my high school prom actually, it was so pretty I kept it."

He admired the appearance of the dress, "Prom huh? Looks expensive."

Skye nodded, "It was, but my mom wanted me to look 'special'. It even still fits me well. I can't wait to show it off to Jack when I get home, he likes it whenever I wear it."

Nick started to have second thoughts about telling the vixen what was going on with her in a good mood, "Listen Skye I uh...something to tell you."

Skye noticed that the fox was lacking his usual vigor, "You okay?"

"I guess to tell you the truth I'm not actually really doing so hot right now."

The vixen laid the dress on her lap, "You can tell me."

"Judy and I are going through a rut sort to speak." he explained.

She gasped, "Oh no, you guys seem to get along really well, what happened?"

"Well I guess this does relate to you."

She raised an eyebrow, "Really? What is it?"

The officer sighed, "You should know that there's something going on with Jack."

Her expression changed first into surprised then worry, "What's wrong?"

Despite Nick's animosity towards the agent, he still wasn't keen to be the bearer of bad news, "You see, Jack has a thing going with...Judy."

"A thing?" Skye asked uncertain about his choice of words.

Nick laid his head against the wall behind him, "They're doing something behind our backs. But I didn't want to say anything to you until I was sure of it."

Skye frowned, "Just tell me."

"Jack is cheating on you with Judy." he simply said and braced himself for whatever reaction he was going to receive from her.

At first the vixen didn't seem to react at all, "Huh?"

"It's what I said, Jack's cheating on you." he repeated still waiting for the worst.

Skye had a confused look on her face before a smile crept on her face, "You like being a jokester huh?"

"You think I would lie to you about this kind of thing? I'm telling the truth!" he insisted.

She still wasn't convinced, "And I'm really an alien from outer space. Are you trying to pull my tail with this lame setup?"

"Look, I'm just telling you what's going on and that's all. This isn't some kind of stupid little joke."

Skye stood up, "If you're so sure about this, then I'm going to see for myself."

Nick tilted his head, "You really think Jack's going to say that he's cheating on you?"

The vixen frowned, "I just want to know what's actually going on."

"I'm not one to butt into personal relationships, so go ahead." Nick nonchalantly coerced.

Nick wasn't sure if he just heard her growl or not, "If Jack's really is cheating on me, it won't end well."

"I suppose it wouldn't. I doubt there's many people that are fine with being cheated on."

Skye briskly walked out of the store, "If Judy's really smooching with Jack I'm going to rip her a new one!"

"Wait, let's not do anything too hasty here!" Nick said realizing what he just started.

Skye was gone by the time Nick made it to the front door, " _Oh crap, I just put Carrots in real hot water right now. You stupid fox! Why did you have to go and butt into someone else's business like that?"_

Nick rushed back to his cruiser and after entering he checked his phone, on the screen it indicated that there was a voicemail message from Judy.

" _Hey Nick, I was just checking up to see if you might be ready to talk, but there's no rush! Please take as much time as you need, when you're ready I'll be here. Thanks."_

Nick held on to his phone and replayed the message in his head several times, "Even after how I treated you, you're still there for me...fuck!"

The anger directed towards the doe subsided and regret took its place, " _I let her down, I threw her to the wolves just because I couldn't bother to keep my act together. Now Skye is out there and Karma only knows what's she going to do when she finds out_."

He grabbed his sunglasses and started the engine, "Looks like I gotta rescue her out this mess I made."


	42. Chapter 41

" _Hey Mom, can I have a cupcake with my lunch?"_

 _"Don't you think you had enough sugar already? First the soda and now the cupcake before you know it you're going to be one tubby kitty."_

 _"Aw, but its just one!"_

 _"Eating junk food like that builds up pretty quickly, it doesn't take much before you start packing the pounds."_

 _"But the other kids in school get dessert with their lunches!"_

 _"William sweetie, I'm just trying to get you to eat healthier. You'll thank me when you grow up to be a big and strong cat alright?"_

 _"But Mom-"_

 _"No cupcake and that's final. If you do well in school today I might give you one after dinner."_

 _"Ugh, fine...hey Mom, what's this folder?"_

 _"Looks like your Dad forgot something for work, I'll keep it safe until he comes back."_

 _"Did Dad already go to work?"_

 _"I don't actually know, he hasn't called yet. I guess he's busy right now but I'll give him a call later to see if he's okay. Anyways we should get going, the school bus will be here any second."_

 _"When I get back from school, can you help me with my homework?"_

 _"Of course, I'm always here to help. It's what Moms do after all."_

William awoke feeling very drowsy to the point that he lacked precise control over his own body, feeling as though he was intoxicated. Combined with the soreness around his body, he felt sapped of the energy that he would normally gain from taking such a long nap.

Compared to before where the cat felt distressed and miserable, he now just felt numb. After a quick check of his phone, the cat decided to take a shower to cleanse himself of the grimy feeling that he accumulated through the day.

While in the shower, the warm water helped to relax his body and he began to go into deep thought. Without anyone else in the house, he didn't feel any rush towards doing anything certainly without his father pushing him into doing something he would consider productive.

For a while William contemplated talking to his father about whether or not he should pursue some other occupation besides joining the ZBI. The cat had enough trouble getting over just one killing, but he knew that if he were to pursue the same line of work as Jack it would inevitably lead to more down the road.

He began to ponder alternative paths, " _I got pretty good grades and I've done a lot of after school stuff, maybe I should go to college instead and study something else. My dad will probably support any decision I make, it's not like he's pushing me to become an agent like him."_

The thought of aiming to do something else brought along some anxiety, " _But what if things don't work out so well? Is joining the ZBI the safe route? I can't imagine most people my age have this sort of problem. I don't want to let my Dad down since he's done so much for me already and I can't just let it all go down the drain. But at the same time I don't know if I'm good enough to do this."_

The cat has long since learned to embrace showering as opposed to when he was a kitten where the thought of it made him become upset, something that Jack quickly squashed as he wasn't going to tolerate having a smelly, unkempt person in his home. An unintended effect was that William was prone to taking extended sessions as a way to have some privacy and relaxation away from the stresses of life.

" _I want to show my Dad that I'm just as capable as he is, but how can I do that if I can't even get over myself? What can I do to show him that I'm ready?"_

He didn't want to succumb to angst over his indecisiveness, but it became increasingly difficult to not overthink each scenario.

After nearly an hour, he decided that he had been in the shower long enough as his fur was thoroughly clean. Stepping out of the stall, he wiped the fog off the mirror and was surprised to see that despite his insomnia and anxiety his face seemed perfectly normal as though nothing happened to him in the first place.

" _Huh, I guess I can pull off looking good pretty easily. Hopefully Dad sees this as me being fine and stop bothering me about it."_

Even if William was fine with his father giving him attention, it didn't take much before he had to suppress his inner instinct to start clawing at the rabbit whenever he got too affectionate, something he didn't like about being a predator species as he found himself itching to use his claws in situations that did not require it.

As he grew up, Jack insisted that whenever he wasn't at the house his son was going to have to make sure that whatever required attention was attended to. William could still remember having to call the plumber to fix the kitchen faucet at only 12 years old. Due to this, William learned to become independent at a young age to the point where he felt confident enough to be able to live on his own and handle all the responsibilities that came with it.

After applying some conditioner onto his fur to keep it looking shiny and healthy, the cat left the bathroom and peered around the corners of the house, "Hello? Anyone here?"

Most teens would be elated to have the home to themselves, but William had grown used to being alone and didn't see much fun to be had. Without anyone else in the house to talk to he became to feel weary about being stuck at home without much to do and being bored wasn't something he inspired to because sooner or later he would start to do things that wouldn't be considered civilized in modern animal society such as clawing at the couch, stare at passerby's on the sidewalk and even groom his own fur despite just taking a shower.

" _Well, I could finish the rest of my homework and catch up on that book I've been putting off for a while...I'm not in the mood to be hanging out with friends right now, and TV sounds boring. Then again the attic probably needs cleaning, I don't think Dad has done that in a while."_

On the upper floor he pulled the string that brought the collapsible stairs down and climbed into the attic, the dust that collected inside over the past few months caused the cat to sneeze and looked around he saw that it was definitely in need of a touch-up, "Oh, this might take a while, but it's not like I'm pressed for time."

There were many boxes that were strewn around the room along with some pieces of old furniture that Jack collected over the years and kept for sentimental value including many childhood items that he brought over with him from his hometown.

He grabbed a blanket and tugged it off revealing an old object underneath, "Dad's old tricycle...it's so tiny. Probably would break it if I put one foot on it."

He also spotted several shirts neatly folded into a drawer, "Didn't know he was a fan of punk rock. What else have you been hiding from me?"

There were several books in another box including what seemed to be a journal. Upon opening the journal there were several entries that Jack wrote, " _My first time in Zootopia, it's so much bigger than my own town. Dad saved up enough money from overtime to take all of us, I would've been fine with going to France honestly, but I guess it would be good to come here just once. Decided to buy this journal from the bookstore at the airport to remember things by, hopefully it doesn't get stolen."_

 _"_ Dad came to Zootopia before he moved here for the ZBI? He never told me that either..."

 _"Most of the people here seem to be friendly, but some of the rabbits here won't stop bothering me because of my accent, most annoying thing so far that happened in this trip. The food was good as well, Dad nearly choked on a french fry but Mum was able to get it out of him. After lunch my brother and I went to the arcade and played this weird game called Killer Crab, turned out to be some kind of fort defense game, it was okay I guess. Playing the games at the arcade makes me wonder if I can convince my Mum to buy me a video game console for my sixteenth birthday since a car is out of the question."_

 _"_ Hmm, looks like this was written fifteen years ago, so he was a little younger than me when he wrote this. He seemed to be a pretty well-adjusted guy back then, let's see here..."

" _On m_ _y third day in Zootopia, one of the police officers told me to get off the grass at the park, little dickhead thought he could scare me. Didn't tell anyone that I took a piss on the tree, but I'm sure one of those wolves will pick up the scent at some point, my territory now pricks."_

William rolled his eyes amused at Jack's antics, "Glad to know he wasn't all stuck up when he was younger."

He continued to read his father's excerpts, curious to see what his father was like before.

" _Saw a raccoon for the first time, fat bastard couldn't stop munching on those bug burgers, I guess Zootopians don't care as much about their diet as we do back home. My father got this giant cup with the Zootopia baseball team on it, forgot the name already. My sister took me to an ice skating rink, fell down on my ass several times but I did get to meet this cute girl that said hi to me, my sister decided to ruin my life by telling the girl that I still slept with a stuffed carrot in bed, fucking cunt I'll get my revenge."_

After reading that particular entry he burst into laughter, the thought of the rabbit acting like any typical awkward teenager certainly helped to bring a sense of enjoyment.

William was familiar with the fact that his father had a tendency to betray his image of being a stately, mannered gentle-rabbit. But reading the journal revealed to him that Jack in the end was no more prim and proper than William was despite the buck's efforts to reform both of them into what he considered to be the ideal perception of an upper crust sort of family.

The cat grinned, "This could be the perfect blackmail for when he starts to get a little too pushy. Bring him down a few notches by reminding him of his own blunders."

Shifting through the rest of the pages, it provided an insight into Jack's adolescent life. There were some familiar events jotted into the journal that his father has told him in the past, but there were a few things that he seem to have decided not to share. One such event surprised the cat when he read further.

" _Just got back from John's party, I think I'm a little drunk."_

Judging from the messier than usual writing style that Jack produced, William agreed with his father's speculation.

" _Came home late, Dad caught me sneaking into my room. Got the bloody belt again, my back and ass still fucking hurt. Dad said if I did it again he would beat me twice as hard."_

The cat was a little horrified by the treatment his father endured as a teenager, "Did Grandpa really do that to you?"

" _I swear on my life that I'll leave this heap of shite called a home. I've been thinking of moving to Zootopia to do something, my football coach says I'm unusually strong for a rabbit my size, maybe I'll join the boxing league, play football, just something to get away from this place."_

William didn't blame the buck's wishes to leave his home, "I can see where he's coming from, I would hate to be there too."

What confused him was despite the fact that Jack abhorred being struck by his own father is that Jack applied the same punishment on him. William could only speculate into why Jack did so in the first place, but since his father has stopped and has sincerely apologized for it, the cat could only look back on it as a painful yet distant memory that he'd rather forget.

With all of the discoveries that he was making he started to feel like the little curious kitten he was when he first moved into Jack's house, constantly snooping around and looking into places that his father would discourage or even outright ban him from entering. William lost count of how many times he snuck in his father's room to look for any devices that Jack may have brought home from work.

In a small metal box there were pictures of when Jack was just a bunny, "Wow, he looks so different in some of these pictures..."

In one of the pictures, a much younger Jack had fur growing out from the top of his head which hung down over his face, coupled with the rather androgynous clothing he could've passed for a female if not for the dark eyebrows.

"It's so weird seeing my Dad look like this, I wonder if he's part long-haired rabbit."

William speculated that some of Jack's insecurities about his childhood stemmed from his appearance and personality as a child, which he guessed was part of the reason why Jack kept some of his childhood memories away from his son.

"Yep, my Dad would definitely blow a fuse if he found out that I saw these pictures. But now that I know more of what he was like as a kid, he can't embarrass me anymore if I have something to throw back at him."

Another picture that caught his attention was Jack in what looked to be a Halloween party dressed as a pirate, surprisingly he dressed well as though he put some actual effort into looking the part up to carrying a rum bottle, he also seemed a little drunk from his red eyes and slightly tipsy stance.

"Dad drank a lot as a teen...I hope he's not an alcoholic." William thought looking back into the times when Jack was drunk as an adult.

There were a few pictures of himself as a kitten as well, one of which was taken during his first swimming lesson at the local neighborhood recreation center. William looked back with both amusement and a hint of shame remembering himself yelling when he was forced into the water by his father who insisted that he needed to learn how to swim, Jack soon required bandages on his left arm and cheek from the kitten's resistance.

"Lots of memories in here, I wonder why Dad put all these things here. Shouldn't they be around the house so that they can be seen? It's not like Dad isn't _that_ secretive about his past...but then again he never told me about this journal."

Taking another look at the journal he discovered a page in the very back that was earmarked, interest piqued he sat down on the wooden floor and opened the journal to the last page. This last page had an extended entry and seemed to have been written recently as the ink wasn't as worn as the previous pages.

" _Didn't expect to run into this journal again, looking back on it wasn't a pleasant affair but I figured it wouldn't hurt to add something since it's here._ _William is doing well which is good to see, I wasn't sure whether or not he was going to be able to succeed with just me guiding him. But my fears have been addressed, he's grown up to be a fine young adult. It feels ironic that becoming a father has become more important to me than my career, but after what I have done to him I guess it was only right to raise him as best as I could."_

William was confused by this note, "What he's done to me? Is he still feeling guilty about hitting me when I was younger? I thought we were past that already."

Now determined to find out what Jack meant he continued to read, " _William is leaving soon, but part of me doesn't want him to let go. The thought of becoming lonely again hurts too much to think about it, but then again I can't really force him to stay just because of me."_

The cat could feel his heart become heavy from reading his father's lamented writings while at the same time noting how much more eloquently Jack writes in the journal compared to his younger self, almost as though he was writing it for someone else, "Dad..."

" _I thought that writing in this journal would help to keep my emotions in check, but putting my thoughts here only makes it harder to try to keep them to myself. Note to self: When William is ready to leave the house, make sure to give this book to him."_

William solemnly smiled, "A bit too late for that."

" _If this journal hasn't been able to make it to his paws, it is because I was unable to do it myself. Even if he somehow finds this, it probably won't mean anything to him after. William, if you are reading this and I didn't give this to you myself, I'm sorry."_

"Sorry? Okay, this is getting a little too weird for me. I'm sure if I ask about this he can clear up what he actually meant to say."

Jack's journal showed off the side of him that he otherwise hid from the rest of the world, showing to William that although he did truly love him he was also dealing with his own emotional turmoil underneath the mask he created. William could only guess that Jack was at this point struggling to retain this facade especially after seeing the other side of him the past few days.

The last sentence was the most cryptic and also maybe the most concerning, " _I brought much change into his life, some of it bad and some of it good. He's certainly learned to accept it, but I worry that I may have pushed him too hard. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up before I make a major mistake. If and when he learns the truth behind everything I've done for him will he still think of me as his father or will he end that relationship for good? Only him alone can determine that and all I guess I can do is accept whatever fate he chooses."_

Reaching the end William closed the journal and put it back where he found it. He sat there trying to interpret the last page of the journal, the part about Jack worrying about whether or not he was a good father wasn't too surprising to him, even as a young kitten he saw that.

"I wonder why he wrote this in the first place, it's not like I hate him or anything. And I told him a couple of times before that I thought he was a pretty good dad, maybe that isn't enough."

The last sentence in particular stuck with him, " _Accept whatever fate he chooses..._ his fate? What in the hell does that even mean? I hate it when my Dad talks like this, sometimes it's like he doesn't want me to understand what he's saying."

William tried thinking back to when Jack mentioned something like this, but it was hard to recall since the cat never paid any real attention to these sort of conversations beyond just trying to appease the rabbit. He reached the conclusion that the reason why Jack wrote these things was because he desired confirmation from his son, just to know whether William did appreciate him.

He nodded, "Words aren't enough...I guess Dad was right about that. I should show him my appreciation for everything he's done for me, maybe I should buy him a present or ask him to do something together like go camping."

After putting everything else back to their spot, the cat exited the attic and closed the hatch door.

All the cat could do now was wait for his father to return home from work, "I've been up there for a while, it's already been an hour. Dad should be back from work pretty soon, I want to let him know as soon as possible."

William decided rather than calling Jack to let him know over the phone, he felt it would be better to wait until he got home so that they can have a talk face to face. Though William and Jack has had intimate dialogues before, he knew that since it may be the last time they would have a talk like this while he was still under the care of the buck he knew it was probably going to be the most emotional one.

He went up to his room and grabbed the book that he began reading earlier, "Looks like I have to stay here until they come back, hopefully they don't take too long..."


	43. Chapter 42

_**Okay, you guys asked for it...**_

"You doing okay there Jack?" Judy asked seeing the buck dozing off in his chair.

He snapped back from his wavering in and out of consciousness and nearly fell off his chair causing the other rabbit in the room to giggle, "H-Huh? Oh, guess I was feeling a little tired..." he said rubbing his eye and yawning.

The doe chuckled, "You wanna go home huh?"

Jack stretched, "It would be nice to just relax at home after a long day. But there still a few things to do before I can officially take some time off for myself as I planned to do."

"You're planning on taking a vacation?"

He nodded, "Bingo, I feel like I deserve it since I haven't had one in a long time. May as well take it easy and spend some time with William before I begin my new and undoubtedly busier responsibilities."

"What kind of things you thinking of doing with him?" Judy asked interested in what Jack does besides his work.

"I've been thinking of heading back to the UK with him to visit our family. He's been asking if we can go to London recently."

The thought of being in another large city with all the landmarks definitely fascinated her, "Wow, I always wanted to go to London."

The agent gave a half-smile, "It's alright, the only problem is the ridiculously expensive and hard to find parking."

"I bet you William's going to be happy to see that you're done with this case." she suggested.

The agent looked out the window, "I hope you're right, he might feel a little dejected because he wasn't there to help capture Hunter in the first place. But it was a now or never situation to begin with and he was not in any condition to undergo such a task."

He loosened his tie a little, "I wonder what's next for me. I guess there's making sure William makes it to graduation in good standing, and then figuring out from there what's the best course for him to take."

Judy nodded, "Yeah. Seems like you got it figured out..."

The buck picked up on her somewhat disheartened tone, "And for you I'm safe to assume that trying to repair your relationship with Nick is a priority?"

"If it could even happen I doubt anything's going to fix what happened between us." Judy lamented.

Jack frowned a little, "Does this mean you're going to give up on trying to mend things with him?"

She sighed, "What can I do? It's my fault for letting things go too far and now I'm stuck in this position where I feel like anything I do is going to make things worse."

"I suppose we both got a little too ahead of ourselves." he said standing up and walking to the door, "Anyways, for the meanwhile I suppose it's time to pay my mouse friend a visit eh?"

The walk to the Mr. Carter's office was marked with silence between them, as Judy tried not to think too much about Nick. Although Judy was comforted with Jack's presence she doubted whether or not she could ever get in Nick's good graces again.

Outside the office door Jack tapped her shoulder, "Listen, don't take it the wrong way but while we're in here there's going to no sign of affection between us alright? Keep it strictly professional, I don't want Mr. Carter to get any wrong ideas."

She nodded before Jack opened the door, "Jack! Fancy meeting you again and I see Officer Hopps was able to make it after all, I'm glad to see you're here!" the mouse said greeting both.

"Thanks for having me Mr. Carter!" Judy replied with her usual cheery voice.

"I'll keep this brief since I assume you have other things to do. And since Officer Wilde wasn't able to make it here to receive our praises, I'm hoping you can pass my message on to him?"

Judy hesitated for a moment before being able to reply, "I'll try my best to make sure he knows."

"Great! I've also tossed together a little gift basket for your hard work, Jack if you would be so kind?" the mouse asked pointing towards the wrapped gift behind him.

The buck obliged and passed along the basket to Judy, "I guess technically since this is a gift from our agency to yours, this can be considered a gift from both of us."

Inside there was various sweets, some flowers, gift cards for different stores and a thank you card which Judy was grateful for, "Thank you so much, Nick and I will enjoy this."

The mouse took a sip of water from a thimble, "Of course, wouldn't be much to just say thank you and let you be on your way. Now Jack, we've already told you about your reward so don't feel excluded if I didn't have something for you."

"The promotion was more than enough Mr. Carter." Jack replied.

Judy gasped, "You were promoted?"

The buck nodded, "Gained a seat in the Board of the Intelligence Department."

The doe gave him a hug, "Congrats!"

Jack wasn't expecting her response and stood there a little awkwardly, "Um...Judy."

She let go and chuckled, "Oh yeah, sorry. I got a little too excited."

Mr. Carter was amused by the doe, "She certainly is an energetic bunny, well I'll let you go. I hope at some point we'll cross paths again."

"Thanks. It was a pleasure helping the ZBI." she said returning to her high-spirited manner.

The mouse turned to Jack, "And for you, I expect more great results from you from here on."

"Hmm, and all the things I have done before hasn't count?" Jack sarcastically asked.

The mouse grinned, "Let's just say your actions will carry more weight. You should exercise more caution in your planning since more lives will be at stake."

"I'll take that into consideration then. Also, I'm going to take some time off if you don't mind." Jack requested.

Mr. Carter nodded, "Of course, right now would be a good time to take a nice rest from this hellhole while you still can."

The buck smiled a little, "I wouldn't go so far to call it that."

"Alright I'll keep my trap shut. I'll see you soon then." Mr. Carter said waving farewell to them.

Jack held the door open for Judy, "Have a good rest of your day, Mr. Carter!"

The mouse winked, "Same for you Officer Hopps."

Judy carrying the basket huffed a little from the weight, "I'd say it went well."

The buck was pretty self-assured about the meeting, "You're right on that, anyways I guess this means I'm going back to my office until it's time to leave for home."

Judy nodded, "And time for me to go back into the station. Who knows, maybe Nick will like this gift."

The buck scratched his neck, "Could be a start."

"I would give you a hug goodbye but um..." she said looking at the quite heavy basket.

"Oh, let me..." he planted a quick kiss on her cheek, "Please take care and we'll see each other soon okay?"

She looked with fondness into his eyes, "Y-Yeah, I will."

After watching him walk down the hallway until he disappeared the doe readjusted herself to carry the basket better and nearly stumbled her way towards the elevator, "Come on, reach for the button...there we go."

With the gratitude from Mr. Carter and the 'conversation' with Jack, the doe was now riding on a high of accomplishment and joy despite the recent spat she had with her partner. Now she felt more confident to talk to Nick in the hopes that maybe he could find it in his heart to at least stop being angry towards her and Jack.

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, the elevator door finally opened and after letting a few of the occupants exit she stuffed herself in bumping into the other people inside, "Oops! Sorry, this stupid basket..."

The ride down took a while as along the way down the elevator made several stops prolonging the duration in which the doe was stuck inside. Her arms began to feel sore as carrying the fairly heavy basket for an extended time started to take a toll on her despite the strength she had gained during her training.

" _Ugh finally..."_

The door opened at the lobby floor and Judy tumbled out still struggling to maintain a good grip, " _Whew, j_ _ust gotta make it outside and I'm golden."_

" _Judy!"_

"Nick?" she said trying to peek around the basket.

The red fox huffed as he jogged to her, "Is Skye here?"

"Skye? I haven't seen her, why?" the doe asked wondering why Nick was here in the first place.

The fox caught his breath, "Long story short, I told her that you and Jack were cheating on her."

Judy froze, "Oh...sweet cheese and crackers."

"Let's get it clear, I'm not here to beg on my knees for your forgiveness, but I rather not be responsible for an officer being mauled to death and that's why I came here to warn you." Nick explained.

Judy placed the basket on the floor, "I gotta tell Jack!"

Nick shook his head, "Screw that, let him deal with her, we need to get out of here before the shitstorm begins."

"Nick, I'm so sorry for what happened earlier, I didn't mean to hurt you like that!" she attempted to apologize.

The fox rolled his eyes, "It's gonna take more than an apology to make me reconsider. The only reason why I came here is because Chief Bogo would raze my ass because I put you in harm's way."

The gift basket caught Nick's eye, "I'm guessing that's from the agency?"

The doe nodded, "It was for us."

He carried it, "Cool. Let's hightail it out of this joint."

"But Jack-"

A sarcastic, almost mocking smile grew on his face, "Still worried about your boy-toy? Go ahead and try to defend him from a trained killer if you want, I'll just say to Bogo that you decided on your _own_ to get involved in this conflict."

The doe stood there exasperated as the fox walked away with the basket, "But he might get killed!"

"I don't really care." he merely replied.

The doe stamped her foot, "Well I'm going back!"

"Fine, go ahead and be a hero for your Prince Charming." he said nonchalantly.

Judy dashed back to the elevator, "I'm sorry Nick, but I can't just leave him by himself on this, I was the one who brought this upon us in the first place."

Nick stared at her unmoved by her decision, "If that's what you want to do I'm not going to stop you." he told her before leaving through the front door of the building.

The doe was upset by Nick choosing not to help her but she shook it off and forced herself to focus, " _Alright, you can do this Judy. Don't be afraid, you're an office of the ZPD."_

The ride back up was far more agonizing than down as every second made it more likely that Skye made it there before she did, " _Come on!"_

After finally arriving she dashed out of the elevator at full speed and ran past all the bewildered agents before making it to Jack's door.

She swung it wide open, "Jack!"

The buck was facing away from the door, "Did you forget something?"

"I came to tell you Skye knows about us!" she warned.

"I'm well aware of that."

The doe was puzzled by his reply, "What? How?"

"She's sitting right there." he said pointing towards the left of the room.

Judy turned and saw Skye sitting there, "AH! S-Skye!"

The vixen looked at her with a blank expression, "Hey Judy, nice of you to come visit."

The doe gulped knowing there was no backing out of this, "L-Look, don't blame Jack for this. I started this alright? But I won't bother him anymore, just please don't do anything to him!"

"Jack told me everything already." the vixen answered.

"Please have a seat Judy." Jack requested to the doe.

With her heart beating rapidly the officer did as he told and sat in the chair shaking a little as a mix of anxiety and fear flowed through her.

"I-I..." Judy sat there frozen struggling to find any words she could grasp onto, but nothing came to mind.

Skye sighed, "I'm not going to hurt you. It would be admittedly easy to snap your tiny neck, but I'm here because I wanted to know the truth from Jack."

Judy's breathing began to become uneasy as now guilt took its place, "I'm so sorry."

"Say that to _him_." Skye said.

Judy looked at the buck who still was turned away from her, "Jack?"

"I got what I deserved." Jack said before turning around.

The doe gasped in horror taking in the sight of three deep bloody slashes on his face, with more blood pooling onto his shirt and on the desk. The sight of him made her instinctively touch her own cheek.

Judy reached for him but he shook his head, "No. Leave it."

The doe turned to Skye, "Why did you do this to him?"

Skye glared at the buck, "I got a little careless."

Jack's ear twitched, "The cat's out of the bag Judy, she knows everything that's happened between us since we met and she promptly gave me her opinion on the matter." he said trying not to touch his wounds, "I do apologize Judy, but could you please leave?" he asked in a enfeebled tone.

"I'm not going anywhere! You're bleeding everywhere and who knows what Skye will do to you!" the doe insisted.

Jack coughed a little, "Please Judy, I rather be by myself."

"But you're hurt! I'm not leaving you here with Skye!" she cried out.

"You gonna try to kiss the pain away from him? Because if you want I can just leave you two, you deserve each other." Skye said clearly getting annoyed with the the officer's presence.

"And what were you going to do with Jack?" Judy shot back at the vixen.

Skye shrugged, "Well I guess since you seem to like to get into other people's business, I was just going to let him sit there and let him reflect on what he's done."

Judy looked back at him, "Jack, say something!"

The buck seemed withdrawn from the atmosphere with his empty eyes, "What can I say? She's right, I'm going to just sit here until my shift's over and then go home. And same for you Judy, I'm asking you again to please leave." he asked almost pleading.

Tears began to run down her face, "I-I can't!"

Jack covered his scratch marks, "It's done Judy, nothing else you can do."

"B-But..."

"There's nothing here for you bunny, go try to steal someone else's boyfriend." Skye told the officer crossing her arms.

It was at this point the true gravity of the situation became clear to her, "Fine. I'll go, just don't hurt him anymore." she said getting off the chair.

The vixen glanced at Jack's wounds, "I think he's got the message already."

Jack closed his eyes and his head hung down, "Please forgive me, both of you."

Judy sniffed, "Don't say that, I'm not mad at you."

"Good to hear. But Skye's right, there's nothing you can do. Just stay away from me and be done with it." Jack merely said.

Judy saw that her presence was no longer welcomed by either person in the room, "I'm sorry!" Judy said to him before dashing out of the room.

The doe wanted to collapse onto the floor, but the thought of being seen with all of the other people around kept her from doing so, so she just ran straight to the elevator door holding herself back from crying as much as possible.

Right outside the front doors the fox was standing next to his vehicle, "You lived, I'm guessing it didn't end well." He said seeing the doe absolutely distraught.

Judy didn't say a word, instead she sat down on the stairs and covered her face.

"I can't say that I didn't tell you this was going to happen. But apparently I was just a stupid fox that didn't have any good advice. So I'll let you sit there and think on how your little exploit blew up on your face while I'm munching on this muffin."

Judy shuddered as she fought for breath over her tears, " _You were right._ " she said with her mouth covered.

"Hmm? Come again?" Nick asked wanting to hear her say it once more.

"You were right." she repeated with her words still muffled.

The fox walked a little closer to the doe, "Louder please, I think my ears are failing me. I believe you said I was right?"

"You were right okay?" Judy yelled out for the entire block to hear.

Nick wiped the crumbs off his paws, "Right about what?"

Judy clenched her fists, "That I shouldn't have tried to elope with someone who was in a relationship."

The fox gave a satisfied smile, "Clever bunny. Now, take this lesson and use it to remind yourself of what happened when any future temptations you have with other guys might end up in this of thing again, capiche?"

"So...are we okay?" Judy asked hopeful Nick has forgave her.

Nick pretended to think on it for a moment before shrugging, "Like I said earlier it'll take more than you saying sorry a bunch of times, but it would be cruel of me to make you suffer for too long. So how about this, if you keep on making the right choices maybe I'll give you another chance. Deal?"

The doe looked at him with a renewed determination in her eyes, "What do you want me to do then?"

"For starters just please stop talking to Jack, he's more trouble than its worth trying to get in his pants. That's assuming you didn't already do it with him right?"

She huffed, "No! Of course not!"

The fox thought on it some more, "And...you buy me coffee every morning for a month."

"Fine." Judy sighed.

Nick opened the car door and set the basket on the floor on the passenger side, "And with that the road to recovery begins. Catch you later Officer Hopps."

She stood up immediately hearing him say farewell, "Wait! Aren't you taking me back to the station with you?"

The fox smirked at her, "Last time I checked you're still on patrol duty, and besides I got other things to do back at the station. You'll be fine." he said entering the vehicle and driving off.

She felt a little upset but at the same time optimistic about her and Nick, " _I will be fine_..."


	44. Chapter 43

_**This chapter contains scenes that may be of concern for readers with sensitivity towards abuse or suicidal thoughts. Thank you.**_

Pouncing.

When pouncing comes to mind in the modern civilized animal, especially in Zootopia it conjures up an image of prehistoric times when predators actively sought for their prey. The predator would slowly crawl towards the unsuspecting soon to be meal and if all went to plan it would be over in seconds.

Today, pouncing is seen at most as child's play. Something a kit would try out the technique on their friends, siblings, or even parents as a way to familiarize themselves with their bodies. As the child grows, the urge to pounce generally goes away as they learn to accept societal norms and bounds.

William could be considered to be one of those predators to have held onto that particular trait even if he was surrounded by 'enlightened' ideals shared by many in his community. The cat was just as mindful as most other citizens of Zootopia about what to say and not to say, but being raised by a rabbit introduced a new layer of understanding between him and the rest of the prey population along with the constant prodding of his basic instincts by the sight of easy prey always nearby.

Even by the age of 17, William occasionally liked to play the age-old tradition of stalking and 'hunting' his prey which so happened to be his father. If William happened to be in a playful or excited mood, the cat was far more tempted to practice his hunting skills on Jack who previously learned to embrace it as a sign that his son loved him enough to do it in a playful manner and not to harm him in any way.

William kept his window open in order to be able to hear his father's car approach the driveway and despite dozing off yet again after reading his book, the familiar roar of the engine instantly sprung him into life.

" _Finally!"_

The cat had the plan laid out, Jack will unlock the door and William would hide around the corner where the rabbit wouldn't be able to see him and he would go in for the kill.

He carefully pushed open his door to discourage any creaky sounds, " _He's here pretty late, I guess he had to stay for something._ "

Taking a quick sniff to confirm that it was just his father, the cat got down on all fours and began to silently stalk the rabbit with slow deliberate steps in order not to alert the buck of his presence.

" _Got to time it right."_

Jack so far seemed to have taken his usual routine of setting his bag on the floor next to the front door and setting his jacket onto the coat hanger. Then he was off to the kitchen where William suspected was going to prepare dinner for them.

" _Oh ho, you're making this too easy..."_

Even if it was just for fun, the cat took his role seriously and kept his distance from his father again to make sure that he wasn't heard or seen. His crouched his body closer to the floor and focused in solely on Jack, " _Wait for it..."_

His body began to build up the tension needed to create the energy for the cat to spring forward, " _Target acquired."_

William braced himself and after a second of silence the cat sprung forward and instantly knocked the buck down, "Hey Dad!"

"WILLIAM!" The buck cried out as he was pinned to the floor.

"Happy to see me?" his son grinned with his eyes dilated and his tail swishing.

Jack grunted as he struggled to moved his arms or legs to push off his son, "Let me go or so help me!"

"And do what? Looks like I'm finally strong enough to keep you down." the teen teased the rabbit.

The agent summoned a burst of strength and forced his legs to kick up lifting the cat right off him, "I said enough!"

William quickly recovered from the initial shock of being flung momentarily into the air, "Whoa! You've never shown _that_ to me before!"

Jack frowned at his son, "What are you doing out of bed?"

"What? I was just saying hi-"

The buck growled at him, "Get back in your room now!" he demanded.

"Huh? What bit you in the butt?" his son asked confused.

Jack thumped his foot on the floor, "It's none of your fucking business. Get your arse back into bed now!"

"Dad, you know I'm old enough not to be scared anymore by your threats. I _can_ fight back you know." William reminded his father.

"Don't make me force you up to your room!" Jack said walking towards him.

William entered a defensive posture, "You can't make me Dad, tell me what's going on!"

Jack grasped at the cat's arm forcefully, "You're my son and you're going to listen to me one way or the other."

His son pushed back defiantly, "No! This is where a draw the line, I know something terrible happened to you and that's why you're acting like this!"

The rabbit still frowning let go and turned around, "I have nothing to say to you."

"Yes you do! Considering you just lashed out at me for no apparent reason. I mean all I did was pounce on you and you never got mad at me for doing that before!"

The buck remained silent and opened his cabinet, which made William growl at the sight of him trying to retrieve the alcohol, "Don't drink that!"

The cat ran over and swatted the whisky bottle out of Jack's paw to the ground, smashing it open and covered the kitchen floor with the pungent liquid.

Jack glared at his son, "You've any how much that costed? Clean it up now!"

"I'm not going to do that. Tell me now." William defiantly demanded.

Jack stared angrily at the cat for a moment before scoffing, "Alright. You want to know the truth? All of it?"

His son rolled his eyes, "Duh! Why else would I be asking?"

"Fine. My life's going to hell already, may as well help it along."

The buck walked to his room and after a few minutes passed by he returned in a seemingly calmer yet still cross mood, "I will warn you, after this you may no longer care to hear my opinion on the matter."

William spotted Jack carrying a vanilla folder, "Um, what's that?"

Jack tossed the folder onto the table, "Sit down."

His son did as he told, "First, I must inform you that Skye and I are no longer talking to each other."

William was completely surprised by his confession, "Huh? But I thought you two were going to date again."

Jack shook his head, "That was a mistake, I wasn't prepared to actually do any progress towards that goal. To simply put, I wasn't deserving of such a relationship."

"So now what? Where's Skye?" the cat said still taking in the revelation.

The buck shrugged, "It doesn't matter where she is or what she's doing. All that matters is that it's done, Skye is out of the picture and it was all my fault."

"Why?"

"I had an affair with Judy. And Skye figured it out." Jack told his son.

As each wave of information made its way to William, it became harder for the cat to process the information as disbelief and confusion muddled his thinking.

"But...you and Skye looked happy with each other."

Jack nodded, "You were correct in your observations."

"Then why did you cheat on her with Judy?" William asked still trying to rationalize Jack's behavior.

"Because I'm an idiot. I lack the emotional maturity to be able to handle these situations so instead I felt that I was clever enough to be able to keep my relationship with Skye and Judy in control. But of course it went to shit quickly as I should've guessed."

The cat wanted to slap his father in the face, "You tried being in a relationship with both of them? That's...beyond stupid Dad."

"Yes it was, and now that it all came out of the wash neither of them are going to want to even think of me let alone talk." Jack said staring at the tabletop.

The buck sighed, "And now...the folder."

He slid it closer to William, "This is _very_ relevant to you, I would read every word of it."

William grabbed it, "Dad, you're worrying me." he said noting the rabbit's depressed expression.

Jack's eyes lost all of its luster, "Just read it."

The folder itself was blank at the front, but there was little tags jutting out from inside the folder itself. William was familiar with the fact that Jack kept his assignments cataloged in each folder, so he knew that it was going to be about a case.

He opened the folder and inside there was several pages of documents inside, "Could you just tell me what this is about?"

Jack shook his head, "I don't want to explain it, you can figure it out for yourself just fine."

The cat grabbed the first page, "Okay let's see then..."

" _Directive: The ZBI intelligence committee has determined that several of our documents regarding the transfer of prisoners from our headquarters to Nashiq Maximum Security Prison were stolen last month by Derrick and Marie Katswell. In response to this highly classified information being now in potentially subversive paws, the committee reached a verdict that the two suspects will be held accountable to the maximum extent of the law."_

William squinted, "Derrick and Marie Katswell? What are my parents doing in here?"

The rabbit merely continued to look down towards the table which indicated to the teen that he had to continue reading.

" _After careful deliberation, we've selected Agent Jack Savage to collect the documents and neutralize the threat that Derrick and Marie present to the ZBI."_

The cat stared at the those three words, " _Neutralize the threat...neutralize the threat..."_

Those words held ambiguous meaning to him, "Dad?"

Jack knew at that moment with the look on his son's face he reached that point of the document, "Put two and two together William. You've heard that expression many times before."

William looked down at the document and up to his father several times, trying desperately not to reach the conclusion that his father was suggesting, "No...no...it can't be."

His father made direct, deliberate eye contact with the cat, "It is. I killed them."

"You didn't kill them..." William said weakly.

"I haven't forged those documents William. This isn't a trick, a test, or even a cruel joke. You can inquire the ZBI if you so choose."

Despite the denial that the cat was going through, he knew deep down that his father's words were reality.

At that moment, William was completely drained of any emotion whatsoever. No anger, no grief, not a single thought went through his mind with the exception of the newly acquired fact that Jack was his parents' murderer.

" _Mom...Dad..._ _"_

Since William was adopted by Jack, the cat suppressed as much as he could any memory of him with his birth parents. At the time he rationalized that in order to become a good son to the rabbit he would need to cut any and all ties that he had with his biological family, and he largely succeeded to the point where he looked back to his early childhood with little to no emotion, seeing that part of his life as just something that happened rather than taking any value from it.

He learned to trust Jack with the utmost confidence that the buck would protect and nurture him away from the harsh realities of life. Jack was his only true source of comfort and confidence, without him William would feel unsure and lost into what he should do in a given situation even as he grew older. He grew to love Jack enough that he accepted his adoptive father as his own.

Finally one emotion did break through the wall.

"Dad..."

"Yes?"

The cat set the folder down to the table and held his paws together tightly, "I'm...I'm not mad at you."

Jack looked up at him in utter shock, "William?"

"You killed my parents. But I'm not angry." William told his father in a unsteady yet calm manner.

Jack was conflicted, "I killed them without any objection. I took them away from you."

William's body was shaking, "I know that. But I just can't muster up anything against you."

The cat shook his head, "They're gone now, it's been almost eight years now since they died. Nothing's going to bring them back."

Jack still wasn't sure how to respond to his son, "I'm sorry."

"I know you are, otherwise you wouldn't have shown me this at all."

The cat gave a small smile through his watering eyes, "My heart hurts so much right now. I want to just disappear, but I can't...there's too much else to live for."

Jack gave a stern expression, "William, you shouldn't cry about this."

"I already am." his son replied wiping his eyes, "But I don't hate you."

Jack himself felt the sting on his cheek return, "Don't lie to me. You do hate me."

His son continued to smile weakly, "I don't. Never have, never will. I'm not that sort of person Dad."

The buck felt anger surge through his veins, "No! I demand you punish me!"

"Punish you how? What do you want me to do?" his son challenged.

Jack slammed his fists on the table, "Get your revenge! I'm here, I'm ready to accept it!"

William's vision became blurry from all the tears, "How is killing you going to make me feel better?"

"Because a menace like me doesn't deserve to live. All I can do is ruin lives, I've demonstrated that!" Jack yelled gritting his teeth.

"I'm not killing you Dad." the cat stated with finality.

Jack's expression turned from anger to vacancy, "I see."

The buck got up from the chair and strolled down the hallway to the stairs, "Dad? Where are you going?"

William chased after his father to his room, "Dad come back here!"

Jack turned around still emotionless, "Leave."

His son sniffed, "I'm not leaving you. We need each other."

Jack opened his drawer and pulling out his pistol he pointed it straight towards the cat, "You see what kind of rabbit I am now William? I'm a monster, I have no sympathy, no love, nothing."

William stood defiantly in front of his father, "You're not going to shoot me Dad."

His father breathed uneasily, "I'll do it. I'll kill us both so we don't have to suffer any longer!"

"Fine. Finish the job then, you didn't kill me when I was little. So do it now." William said to the buck leaving the vital parts of his body wide open.

Jack's finger landed on the trigger, "I'll fucking do it!" he shouted out.

William took a deep breath and remained calm, "Kill me then, what are you waiting for?"

Time seemed to slow down for a moment for the rabbit as the image of William as a young, vulnerable kitten appear right before his eyes.

He dropped his pistol and himself to the ground before he began to sob on the floor.

William rushed to him, "Dad!"

Jack curled into a fetal position loosing control of him emotionally, "Fuck! Fuck!"

The cat held him, "Snap out of it!"

"I nearly shot you..." Jack said staring at his paws.

"Everything's okay I promise!" William pleaded to him.

The rabbit felt like he was having a heart attack, "I-I can't live like this...", to the cat it looked as though Jack was in agonizing pain from his shaking and twitching.

William laid down on the floor next to him, "Please Dad, I'm fine see? You didn't do anything."

His father's eyes were wide open, burning red from his hot tears, "I-I..."

William held him close, "It's okay."

The cat began to purr to try to calm his father down, "It's not your fault."

The purring worked as its therapeutic attributes returned Jack from his breakdown and he then reverted to sobbing in his son's chest.

William was relieved to see that his father came back from the brink, "See Dad, everything's cool. It's just us two, nobody else to bother us."

The buck barely contained himself, "There's no hope for me is there?" he said partially muffled through the cat's chest.

"There is when I'm here."

Jack gulped, "You shouldn't have to put up with me. Nobody should, I'm a failure. I let down everyone who had to deal with me and now everyone hates me. I'm just some upstart that thought he could be someone he wasn't. I'm not Agent Savage of the ZBI, I'm just bloody Jack."

William hugged him close, "You're you, all the things you have accomplished is all because of you. Not because of someone else."

The rabbit tensed up slightly, "Am I so pathetic that my own son who I'm supposed to protect has to comfort me?"

The cat shook his head, "No. You're not pathetic, you're not a failure. You just had a rough day and that's it."

Jack composed himself just enough to be able to converse, "Funny. I came here thinking it was going to be my last day here in this world when I revealed my secret to you. But instead you chose to comfort me at my darkest moment instead, is this nature's way of being cruel to me?"

William chuckled softly, "I'm not here to be cruel. I'm here because we are still family. Even after what you shown me, I love you too much to just turn on you like that."

"But I killed your actual family." Jack insisted.

His son nodded, "I acknowledge that. But like I said before what's done is done. There's no point in revenge by killing someone I love, it'll just lead to more heartbreak."

Jack closed his eyes, "I might just be the luckiest rabbit around having a son with such a caring soul."

William rested his head on top of Jack's, "What makes you think that?"

"You stayed. Even after everything. You didn't give up on me, you didn't leave me..." Jack choked through his weeping.

"Of course I won't leave you. You stayed for me and I'll do the same." William consoled his father trying hard to fight back his own tears.

Jack snuggled closer to his son's chest feeling worn out from his emotional outburst, "I'm...I'm happy now."

The cat also closed his eyes with a smile, "I am too Dad."

 _ **So it finally happened. Story's not over yet though :)**_


	45. Chapter 44

_**The story jumps ahead in time here just to let you know.**_

"We got any cereal left at the house?" Jack asked his son as they were shopping at the grocery store.

The cat tilted his head back trying to think up an image of the last time he looked inside the pantry, "Um...no."

"Let's try this brand. It's supposed to be free of artificial flavoring." the buck suggested pointing out the box on the shelf.

William scrunched his nose at the product, "It's kind of expensive for something that won't last us a week."

"You're right. Petrol has been climbing back up lately so I should limit how many times we take the car, maybe I should trade it in for an electric one."

"There isn't any electric car in the world that can replace ours." William asserted.

His father grabbed the cheaper brand of cereal, "My wallet begs to differ."

In the three months since Jack's reevaluation of his life he chose to drop the polished act altogether and began to act as his actual self. His son was more than happy to help his father on his journey to reestablish his authentic personality.

Jack eyed the fur care aisle, "I need to buy stock up on treatment supplies."

William smirked at him, "Dad, I know you're growing out your fur but aren't we trying to save on money right now?"

"I made sure my regime fits our budget." Jack insisted before trotting to his selected brand of fur conditioner, "See? This isn't too hard on the pocketbook, and it works perfectly."

"Funny how you're more adamant about taking care of yourself while at the same time having to deal with a smaller income." his son remarked.

"Choosing to work only as a board member instead of an agent may have less financial benefits but I no longer have to worry so much about my career. I can just focus on us as a family and I'll take that any day over a bigger paycheck."

William crossed his arms, "You would think that being someone making important decisions would pay better, well at least the ZBI was nice enough to let you choose your own appearance."

Jack had allowed the fur on his head to grow out foregoing his previous routine of shaving it down at the barber before, William had some doubts whether or not it actually was a good idea for the rabbit to do so.

"I know how much you want to try this new look out but I'm worried that if you grow it out too much you're going to look...feminine."

The buck waved his paw dismissively, "Don't be silly, most people know I'm a male."

"Key emphasis on most, remember when that one dude hit on you?"

Jack chuckled remembering how shocked the other buck was when Jack turned around to correct him, "I had a good laugh."

William smacked his father's back, "It was nice of you not deciding to murder him, I'm glad you're learning to take things in a less stressful way."

Jack jumped slightly at his son's paw making contact, "Mind the paw William."

The cat nervously smiled, "Sorry."

"I know you've been still doing your exercises but goodness me anymore of that and you'll be bending girders before you know it." Jack said placing the bottle of conditioner into the shopping cart.

"Getting soft are we?" William teased the rabbit as he began to push the cart.

"My fur might be, but I still am taunt underneath." Jack argued flexing his arm.

William inspected it for a moment, "I see fluff..."

Jack was a little disappointed at his son's lackluster response, "It is not just fluff."

"Why don't you start working out again since you have more time anyways." his son encouraged.

Jack poked at the fat that has been slowly accumulating on his stomach stemming from a poor diet and lack of exercise now that his occupation involved staying at a desk all day, "It would be nice to get back in shape but it's been such a long time since I did any rigorous weightlifting or running and I'm afraid I might hurt myself."

The cat rested his arm on his father's shoulder, "Don't worry Dad, we'll workout together like in that one boxing movie we watched together."

At the register both of them began to place their items onto the conveyor belt, "After this we should go check out that new pizza place they just opened up next to the mall." William suggested.

Jack agreed with his proposal, "Sounds like a good idea."

The cashier, a female puma smiled at the two, "Having a good day so far?"

William politely smiled back, "We are, thanks for asking."

Jack struggled to place a bag of carrots onto the belt as it was slightly too tall for him to lift, "Ugh, William..."

The cat assisted him, "What would you do without me?"

The rabbit huffed, "Go without food apparently."

"Are you two friends?" the puma asked while she was passing the items through the scanner.

William was taken aback momentarily by her question, "He's my dad."

The puma glanced back and forth between Jack and William in disbelief, "But...he looks the same age as you."

Jack shook his head, "You're mistaken, I am his father! He's still in school and all."

She still didn't believed either of them, "Really? You don't look any older than him."

"I mean my Dad looks really young because he's growing his fur out but doesn't that make most people look younger anyways?" William rationalized.

"I guess you do have a point. Sorry about that." she apologized.

"No harm was done. But I am flattered that you thought I was my son's age." Jack winked at the puma.

William nudged his father's shoulder, "Dad, tone it down."

The rabbit grabbed his wallet to retrieve his card, "Can't I have a little enjoyment out of this?"

"You're 30, aren't you a bit old to be flirting around like that?" his son asked him in a disapproving manner.

Jack frowned a little, "30 isn't old at all! If I'm considered to look as _young_ as you then I don't see a problem acting like it. Besides the way present yourself you look older than 18 so maybe that's why she was confused about my age."

"More and more I'm suspecting you're having some kind of midlife crisis." William said in a deadpan manner as he carried the bags into the cart.

"I'm not having a midlife crisis! I'm just doing things that I feel best suit me." Jack protested.

The cat rolled his eyes, "These days I feel like we're more like brothers than father and son the way you've been behaving lately."

"I'm just being myself, isn't that what you wanted all this time?"

William saw that his father was already getting upset, "If it keeps you happy, then I guess."

After paying for the groceries the two headed out into the parking lot, "Bloody hell it's getting chilly." Jack shivered feeling the wind pushed against him.

The combination of a cloudy sky and near-freezing winds was definitely a cause for downtrodden spirits, "You would think our winter coats would protect us from this." the cat lamented.

"This climate is not to my liking at all, and I'm from a place where this isn't uncommon. Let's swing by that pizza place, eating something warm will keep me from freezing." Jack suggested jaunting down the parking lot.

William huffed as his father took off, "Slow down! I'm the one pushing the cart and you're going to get run over!"

"I just want to get inside my car as soon as possible before I freeze my tail off!"

His son groaned, "Ugh, it's like I'm trying to keep pace with a young bunny."

Now that William was officially adult age, Jack wanted to help him feel that he was in that particular stage of life now so he began delegating more responsibilities and privileges to his son including letting him drive his car around more often.

Jack shimmied himself deeper into the car seat, "Thank God my car has heated seats."

The cat cranked up the heat, "For the price you paid I would hope so."

"You mind if I play my music?" Jack asked fiddling around with the car's screen.

William's ears dropped slightly, "Is it that metal music again?"

"I won't put it up too high."

His son sighed, "Okay, just not too much because it's hard to concentrate on driving when it's blaring right in my ears."

"I dealt with your rap music for years, it would be nice of you if let me enjoy my own genres once in a while."

William wasn't able to bother with the radio as he was looking at the road anyways, "Some parts of you have changed so much it feels sometimes like I'm talking to someone else entirely."

Jack was selecting which song to play, "Missing the old me already?"

"Sometimes yeah, but again you seem happier and I much prefer that than you being all depressed."

Once Jack chose which playlist he wanted he kept the volume at a low level so that he was able to enjoy without interfering with his son's ability to drive. Almost immediately the rabbit's tail started to move as he enjoyed the quick tempo of the music.

"It's sorta of funny how you never mentioned that you liked this sort of stuff to me before. I wouldn't have thought any more badly of you if you told me earlier." William told his father.

Jack twiddled his thumbs, "I was embarrassed, punk metal is directly against everything that I had in my mind as the proper sort of gentlerabbit I was supposed to be. But I guess since you don't seem to mind that I enjoy it, it was pretty silly of me to worry about it so much before."

"Being more honest about yourself is much better for your self-esteem than trying to be someone that you're not."

The buck smiled, "You're right, I do feel much better about myself than ever before. I hope that this continues to work in my favor."

"I'm sure it will."

Arriving at the newly opened establishment, the two quickly dashed out of the car and sought refuge from the increasingly hostile weather outside, "Wow, I wouldn't be surprised if it started snowing to be honest." Jack said.

"My weather app didn't mention anything about snow here today but since we're out of the climate controlled area of Zootopia, I wouldn't be too shocked if it _did_ snow."

The pizzeria itself was very modern but to the delight of Jack there was a large fireplace located at one end of the building, "Let's have a table over there."

The two sat down over there and a waiter gave them the menu, "Welcome to Cody's Pizza Palace! I'm Sam, I'll be here to take your orders."

Jack was nearly overwhelmed with all the options for different pizza toppings and sides, "Fancy place innit? Alright William since you chose this place you get to pick what we eat."

The cat stared at the menu intently, "Um...there's a lot of stuff to choose from, can you give us a moment please?"

Sam nodded, "Of course! Take your time."

After the waiter walked off to attend to other guests the two deliberated over what to get, "We can make it half meat and half vegetable." William suggested.

Jack was a little apprehensive of the idea, "I just hope their careful enough not to get any meat onto my side of the pizza, my stomach would be pissing itself for the better part of a day."

"It's just a small pizza, it won't be that bad."

"Hmm, this place is a bit pricey." Jack said mentioning the individual prices for each topping.

William was on his phone texting, "That sucks, I should probably get a job so I can pay for this stuff."

"Looking for a summer job before college?"

The cat set his phone back down on the table, "Gotta keep myself busy besides hanging out with my friends. And you." he quickly added at the end.

The rabbit looked out the window, "I hope this summer doesn't get too warm, I hate the heat just as much as the cold."

"I know Zootopia has different climate zones for specific species but I wonder why they can't just create a zone for people like us who like it right in the middle. Anyways what should we do for our pizza?"

Jack shrugged, "Don't really care too much to be honest, but some greens and fruit would be nice. I'll just have pineapple, spinach, and some green peppers I suppose."

William tapped the menu, "I'm going with just pepperoni."

"A shame you can't have a beer with me." Jack said taking a sip of water.

"Well one I'm not old enough to legally drink and two I'm the one driving. Plus aren't you done with drinking anyways?"

Jack chuckled, "It's just a pint, it's not like my mission is to drink until I'm pissed."

"A pint especially for you is enough though. And I'm not going to deal with you being drunk."

"You're probably right, I hope this place is worth what they are asking for."

After placing their order with the waiter, the two started the waiting game.

"So, any time next week you'll be free?" Jack asked looking at the calendar on his phone.

"I don't know, like maybe Wednesday afternoon? Why?"

Jack smiled at his son, "I was thinking we should go watch a movie together."

"You really like doing these outings huh?" William said laughing a little.

"With good time you'll be soon off to college, so I want to make the most of it."

"Um, Zootopia University is like...half an hour from our house." William reminded his father.

The buck began to feel a little upset, "Yes but college life I suspect will keep you very busy and you won't have much time to be able to visit me."

"Dad don't start getting sad again, I promise I'll visit you as much as I can." his son assured.

Jack shook his head, "There's no pressure. Do what you need to do to succeed in school William, your future depends on it. Besides with you out of the house I'll be free to pursue my own 'interests'." he said with a wink.

"Your interests what do you mean-oh." William realized before grimacing slightly.

Jack snickered, "Come on now I know you have a girlfriend, you're familiar with how these things work."

"Dad..." William blushed.

"You've been busy with her lately haven't you? Well as long as you two are smart about it I'll let you be, I think it's honestly cute to see you two together."

"I'm still surprised you didn't say anything when you found out I was dating Tina."

Jack put his paw on his son's arm, "As long as you keep her happy then I'll respect the bond you two have. You are keeping her happy right?"

"Yes Dad." William groaned with some annoyance.

"That's good, every time she comes to the house you seem really happy with her being around. And also...maybe I'm hoping this relationship bares fruit at some point."

William was amused by the buck's wish for grandchildren, "Going to college is trouble enough as it is, I'm not planning on raising any kittens for a while."

"Just saying, if you two ever decide to have kids I want to be there to support you two." Jack insisted.

"Again Dad we are pretty far from that stage, I highly doubt that Tina is going to want to be a mom so soon, let alone me being a dad." William said resting his head on the table.

His father nodded, "I understand, you're only 18 after all. Can't be expecting a bundle of joy so soon."

"The pizza's taking a while..." William said still resting his head on the table.

"You tired?" Jack asked a little concerned about his son's well-being.

"Nah, just hungry."

The buck ruffled his son's fur on top of his head, "It'll be here eventually."

William looked around for the waiter, "It's kind of crowded here huh? Must be good since all these people came here."

"Maybe that's the reason why it's taking a while for the pizza to arrive."

The cat spotted one individual that immediately caught his attention, "Hey Dad, I think I see someone here."

Jack peeked around the seat and his ears dropped at the sight of the uniformed fox, "Nick..."

William immediately became cautious and growled a little, "What's _he_ doing here?"

"Now William, there's no need to pick a fight with him as long as he doesn't bother us okay?"

The officer seemed to be talking to an arctic fox at another table, "Should we just bail then?"

Jack shook his head, "I'm not going to leave this place because Nick happens to be here also besides we've already placed our order."

"What if he sees us?"

"It's a public area, I doubt he's going to raise any trouble here especially since he's well-known in Zootopia by now."

The cat knew that from Jack's confessions that Nick didn't have any favorable opinion towards him whatsoever and for good reason. But William still was eyeing the fox with suspicion.

"Oh look William, the pizza's here." Jack said attempting to distract his son's attention from the officer.

The cat looked around to find the waiter carrying the plate, "Finally!"

"Enjoy! And thanks for choosing Cody's Pizza Palace!"

William rubbed his paws together in anticipation, "Oh boy! It looks so good!"

Jack grabbed the spatula, "The cheese is very stringy, I hope it doesn't make clog up my arteries." he joked.

"You're fine with cheese right?" the cat asked concerned about the rabbit's ability to consume it.

Jack stared at the pizza slice, "Shouldn't be too bad, it's not that large."

The buck took a small bite, "And it's...delicious. Absolutely fucking delicious."

"Enough for you to swear huh? Let's see if it lives up to the hype." William said grabbing a piece from his side of the pizza.

The cat took a much larger bite than his father did, "Mmm! It's so good!"

"Definitely worth the asking price. Would've gone good with some beer though." Jack said eyeing the bar.

"Come on Dad, can't you just be content with a soda?"

His father continued to nibble at his slice, "I was just saying..."

"Good afternoon! I'm Cody Marks, owner of this little establishment I just opened up. Enjoying the pizza so far?"

The two saw that the arctic fox Nick was talking to before came up to them, "Yeah, everything's great. Thanks for asking." William happily replied.

Cody was delighted from the cat's answer, "Great! I'm glad to hear you say that, and for you sir?"

Jack was taken aback slightly by how similar Cody was to Skye in appearance save for the eyes and slightly dark fur tone but quickly shook it off and nodded in agreement, "I can definitely say it's in my top five pizza places I've been to in Zootopia. And I've been to a _lot."_

The arctic fox chuckled, "You're a big fan of the stuff?"

"I enjoy a good stuffing once in a while." Jack told the fox with a smile.

William squinted at the buck, "Did you just make a dad joke?"

Jack looked at his son perplexed, "A what?"

"You know when a Dad wants to be funny...never mind." his son attempted to explain but decided against doing so.

William sneaked a glance from behind Cody to Nick again who was sitting at the table on his phone and instinctively he frowned slightly at the sight of the potentially hostile fox.

Jack knew that his son was looking at Nick again, "Stop staring at others, it's rude."

"But he's-"

His father shook his head adamantly, "We have no right intruding into his personal business."

By now Jack had become familiar with the fact that William only became hostile towards other people if he felt that they posed a threat to either him or to his father.

Cody was curious with the cat's reaction, "You know Nick?"

William continued to frown, "Sort of."

"We had worked with him at some point in the past." Jack explained to the fox.

"That's funny. I was just talking to him earlier." Cody said to the buck.

"You know him as well?" Jack asked.

The arctic fox had a hint of embarrassment in his smile, "Let's just say we are close friends. Remind me what your name is again?"

The buck hesitated for a moment, "Jack...Jack Savage."

"William Savage." his son added.

"You two related then?"

Jack nodded, "He's my adopted son, but I love him all the same."

The pizzeria's owner took joy from the rabbit's explanation, "Aw...that's so sweet. Well I hope you two have a awesome rest of your day and thanks again for choosing my pizzeria."

"Of course, we may decide to come again since this place has such delicious food." Jack assured the owner.

William watched as Cody returned back to Nick, "Close friends huh? I don't know, Cody seems a little you know...fruity."

Jack swatted his son's paw, "We shouldn't judge someone's orientation just because they happen to have different mannerisms than us."

"Dad, I think Cody and Nick might be dating."

His father tilted his head in curiosity, "What makes you think that?"

"They're holding paws."

Jack turned around and snuck a glance which confirmed his son's observation, "Nick is dating another male?"

"Huh, I didn't know Nick was gay."

Jack sat back down, "He never told me about it, but at the same time..."

The buck recalled Nick complimenting his appearance before in such a way that suggested attraction, "I guess in hindsight I should've picked up the cues. But I swore Nick had feelings for Judy."

"Maybe's he bisexual then?" William suggested.

Jack continued to think about it, "Seems so."

William himself wasn't too knowledgeable about gay relationships so he assumed it was similar to straight relationships, "Nick seems happy right now though, maybe he decided to settle down with someone else?"

"I don't know and honestly I don't want to bother him to find out anyways since I'm sure he's still quite cross with me." Jack said remembering what happened before.

"Might be too late for that..."

Jack turned to see Nick standing behind him, "Hello Jack." he greeted.

The buck held back his surprised reaction and forced himself to remain calm, "Afternoon Officer Wilde."

Nick didn't seem to be hostile towards him at the moment, "I see you decided to have some pizza with your kid huh?"

William was already close to being belligerent, "Go away." he hissed.

The fox ignored the cat's warning and kept his attention to Jack instead, "Cody told me that you thought his pizza was delicious. I'm happy to hear that."

Jack forced himself to give the officer a friendly smile, "It was my pleasure."

Nick looked up and down, "You look a lot different than before, growing out your fur huh?"

The buck noticed that the fox took his time inspecting his new appearance rather intently, "I am. Decided to go natural."

"Looks good on you, you look more attractive now that's for sure. Mind if I sit next to you?"

William glared at the fox and his fur bristled, "Dad, don't let him..."

"Of course you can sit next to me." Jack invited the fox scooting over.

Nick sat down next to the buck, "Thanks. So how have you been?"

Jack was slightly suspicious over Nick having seemingly forgiven him over something that previously upset him greatly, "Um...faring better now, I've returned to work after a short vacation, and William's chosen to go to college."

Nick chuckled, "Nice kid, which place you heading to?"

"Zootopia University and it's William." the cat replied still frowning at the fox.

The officer whistled, "Wow, Zootopia U? I heard that's pretty hard to get into, anyways congrats."

Jack had the urge to learn more about Nick's relationship to Cody, "So Officer Wilde..."

"Nick's fine Jack, we aren't working together anymore." the fox reminded him.

"Right, so Nick, you're familiar with the owner of this place?" Jack asked.

Nick chuckled, "I'm _very_ familiar with Cody, not getting into too much detail we used to know each other when I was a teenager."

William's distrust melted away into curiosity, "I saw you holding his paw."

"He's my boyfriend that's why." the fox explained smirking.

"I knew it!" the cat exclaimed.

Jack wondered how it came to this, "How come?"

Nick released a deep breath, "Long story short, we happened to bump into each other on the street one day and after we talked for a while I was like screw it, so we decided to start dating. It works because we knew each other from before."

"How long you two have been together then?" Jack inquired.

The fox thought on it, "Oh...about a month."

"Listen Nick, I never got a chance to say this but I do profusely apologize for my behavior earlier. I was an absolute cunt and I didn't think any of my actions through and I'm so sorry okay?" Jack stammered on before the fox stopped him.

"It's fine Jack, well I mean you definitely did some stupid shit that I was mad for earlier but it's been long enough that I sorta of forgotten about it considering how busy I was anyways."

The rabbit still was uncertain, "Are you saying that you forgive me then?"

"Not exactly forgive but I decided to use my energy towards more positive things like...being in a relationship." Nick explained.

Jack squirmed in his seat, "Is Judy doing okay?"

"She's doing better these days, she eventually got over what happened and now she's back to her old self which I'm glad to see by the way."

The rabbit looked down at the floor, "Good."

"You're not going to try to hurt my Dad are you?" William asked still not convinced.

Nick shrugged, "Today? Probably not since I'm in a pretty good mood but if Jack happens to catch me on a bad day and if he decides to piss me off again then the gloves are coming off I'm sorry."

His answer didn't necessarily assuage the cat's worries but William decided that if Nick wasn't going to start a fight right now then it wasn't worth bringing out the proverbial claws and calmed himself down from his previous defensive demeanor.

Cody returned to the table, "Hey Nick, talking to Jack?"

Nick got off the seat, "Yeah, we were just catching up with each other. Anyways I should get going, Bogo wants me to attend some kind of dumb meeting about some shit I don't care about."

"It can't be that bad."

Nick wrapped his arms around Cody's waist, "Trust me, I rather be with you."

Cody laid his head on Nick's shoulder, "Can't you just skip the meeting?"

"There's a chance Bogo won't care but I'm not taking that risk. It was nice seeing you two guys again, and I'll see _you_ tonight at my place." he said kissing his boyfriend's cheek.

The owner blushed and failed to stop himself from giggling, "Nick, stop it!"

Despite the weather the fox donned his signature sunglasses after he let go of Cody, "See you later Jack, William."

William awkwardly waved still trying to comprehend what just happened, "Bye?"

"Have a good rest of your day Nick." Jack waved goodbye to the fox as he left the building.

Cody swooned a little, "He's such a great guy."

"He seems so, maybe him dating has done wonders to make him more charitable." Jack speculated.

"Yeah who knew Nick just needed someone to hold him at night." William sarcastically said.

His remark earned a kick on his shin from his father, "Ow!"

Jack looked at the several slices of pizza still remaining on the plate, "Can we get that to go please?"

"Yes of course, I'll get a box for you." Cody said before walking briskly to the bar.

"I can't believe I just ate half a pizza." William said before burping.

His father smirked, "Quite the appetite you have huh?"

"Couldn't help it, it was so good after all."

Jack yawned, "I hope you can still drive."

The cat stretched his arms towards the ceiling, "Probably, just give me a second for my stomach to digest."

Cody returned with a box and the check, "Here you go."

"Thanks a lot Cody, I'll leave a nice tip for your service." Jack gratefully affirmed writing down the amount.

The arctic fox happily grinned as he retrieved the slip, "Appreciate it. Have a nice day!"

"You know I'm surprised that Nick didn't say anything nasty to you, he acted really friendly towards us actually." William said.

"I do wonder if Nick now having a boyfriend has to do with it. I suppose having someone to talk to in such a manner helps."

The buck has considered the possibility that Nick only acted in such a manner towards the two because he was in a public area and it wasn't worth for the fox to get into trouble from engaging in an aggressive manner towards the buck. Jack also considered the fact that Nick genuinely had gotten over his previous contempt for the rabbit and moved on with Cody.

"It might be just me but my gut's telling me that this issue is still unresolved between you two." William told his father.

Jack huffed as he heaved himself out of the seat, "I hope that isn't the case but who knows what Nick is thinking right now. Let's head home."

William groaned, "Do we have to? I'm comfortable where I am right now."

"Come on William, the groceries won't put themselves away." Jack said shaking his son's shoulder.

"Ugh, okay..."


	46. Chapter 45

"There you are!" Judy greeted Nick as he entered the conference room.

Nick wasn't pleased having to attend what he felt was going to be yet another meaningless meeting that would probably involve some accolades for some officer in the department for doing a menial task slightly above average. But the fox recognized that attending such gatherings was crucial to remain in the department's good graces, not just for Chief Bogo but for the other higher ranking officers also.

"How long until the meeting starts?" the fox asked as he sat down next to her.

Judy huffed at the fox's disregard, "It starts in a couple of minutes, you should know this since we were informed by email!"

Nick chuckled, "You know I don't check my work emails fluff, I'm busy enough as it is during my shift, I prefer to keep my work-life balance in check by not freaking out over every single thing that happens here. That's _your_ job anyways."

"But what if something important...never mind, well at least you made it here on time. How's Cody?" she asked.

The fox began playing a game on his phone, "Same as always, busy with his pizza place but he was happy to see me. I make it a point to support him in his little business endeavors by showing up once in a while."

Judy smiled hearing her partner's response, "Was the place packed?"

"It was pretty close to full capacity, keeps Cody busy but it does help him achieve his dreams of owning a successful pizzeria."

The doe was familiar with the location herself since she visited on its opening day, "Dates must be easy to plan with him huh?"

Nick gave a sarcastic offended expression, "What? You're suggesting that I'm the kind of fox that would date his boyfriend at the same place he works at? Because you're absolutely correct, clever bunny."

She was surprised by the fact that the arctic fox would agree to do such a thing, "Cody doesn't mind it?"

"It's convenient for him because he sticks around after closing hours to finish up whatever stuff needs doing, then he'll bring out a pizza that he made for himself and I so that we can eat at the table. He normally closes early on Sundays so that's the best time for him during the week for us to actually have a date together." he explained to her.

"It's just you two?"

Nick smirked, "Oh yeah, nobody's going to bother us since the place is closed up. It gives us some privacy if you know what I mean."

Judy looked around with concern but it seemed the other occupants of the room weren't eavesdropping to have picked up what Nick said, "Nick! Keep it down!"

"Or what Carrots? You're talking like you're still a square, I would be disappointed to see that's still the case." the fox said with a raised eyebrow.

The doe crossed her arms, "I'm not a square."

"Is that right? So you won't mind when I said that I let Cody have a taste of my pepperoni last night?" he told her with a lecherous smile.

Judy landed a quick smack on his arm, "Don't say things like that!"

"What's wrong? I thought you said you weren't a square, don't tell me that you lied!" he said mockingly.

The doe groaned in frustration, "I didn't mean that I didn't want to hear that stuff, just not in public!"

"Hmm, is that right? Let's see if your theory of public decency holds up. Hey Wolford!" he called out to the wolf sitting next to him.

Wolford turned to the fox, "What's up?"

"You remember Cody right?"

The wolf nodded, "Yeah, he's your mate right?"

Nick made a so-so gesture with his paw, "Not quite yet, we're still in the more 'just started' part of the relationship if you know what I mean. But anyways, guess what we did last night?"

Judy panicked, "Nick don't tell him what happened!"

The fox grinned, "Got my rocks off by him."

The wolf was surprised at first but soon a smirk appeared on his face, "Dude...sweet."

The two high fived each other leaving the doe in utter disbelief, "Huh?"

Nick turned back to Judy, "See Carrots? It's not such a big deal, he's cool with it."

"But...whatever I guess you're right." she admitted in defeat.

"Glad to shed some light on the subject, I've already told you these things before anyways and you always seem pretty eager to know more about my love life." Nick reminded the bunny.

"I just want to know how you and him are getting along!" she responded.

The fox continued to grin, "Sometimes I wonder if you're trying to get some insight into my sex life because you're curious about me in particular."

She huffed, "I'm not interested in having sex with you and even if I was I wouldn't fantasize about you and a guy doing it."

"There's nothing wrong with that fluff. It's perfectly normal for anyone, especially a bunny like you to wonder what its like. I can tell you with confidence that its a very good feeling indeed to take him by the scruff of his neck and push him down onto the bed before I-"

"Oh sweet cheese and crackers I get it Nick, enough info!" the doe insisted.

"Hopefully that helped give you a sense of my relationship. So moving on how's your yoga classes been?"

Judy happily nodded, "Doing great! My back doesn't hurt anymore and I feel more flexible now, it's really had an effect with my endurance actually."

"Bet you give the guys in the same class a 'reason' to attend there huh?" the fox teased nudging her shoulder.

The doe couldn't hold back a giggle, "Do the yoga pants really do that to them?"

"Trust me fluff, I'm sure they would pay top dollar to have a _private_ lesson with you." Nick said with a wink.

"Well maybe I should charge extra." she suggested with her own mischievous smile.

"Now that's the kind of attitude I like seeing from you. That sort of confidence in yourself is why you do so well as a police officer."

The doe blushed a little, "You don't mean that. I'm sure everyone else here has the same capability and motivation to succeed like me."

Nick shook his head, "Nah, what you have is that sort of toughness that is kind of like...clay."

"Clay?"

The fox pretended to be mashing clay in his paws, "I mean like you're malleable like you can adapt to situations well but at the same time it's not easy to actually pressure you to do something you don't want to do."

"I think I get it now." she said nodding.

"It's kind of a crappy metaphor but you know what I mean. Never let that ability slip away from you fluff, the moment you do you're going to be eaten up by this city. It doesn't reward people who aren't capable of handling difficult situations without falling apart." Nick warned in a half-serious manner.

She gave her usual confident smile, "Got it."

After several minutes of waiting inside the room the fox quickly began to feel restless, "How long is this person going to take? I got other things to do than be at this stupid little meeting." he grumbled.

"What other things?" Judy asked.

"You know...stuff." Nick replied realizing that he didn't in fact have much to do.

"Maybe they're late? The meeting should've started like five minutes ago." Judy said also starting to feel a little impatient.

Suddenly the door burst open and a panting male squirrel rushed inside carrying a thick folder stuffed with papers and a laptop, "I'm so sorry! I was stuck behind someone in a wheelchair and the elevator took forever to come down so I had to take the stairs..." he stammered.

After taking a moment for himself to catch his breath he set down everything on the table, "My name's Liam, I was sent here by Bogo to cover today's meeting since he was occupied with another meeting himself."

The fox leaned towards Judy, " _He's making a solid first impression_ _."_ he whispered.

" _Shh!"_

"It's been a busy past few days for Bogo and I to create the outline for this meeting so I would appreciate it if you would give your full attention, I promise this won't be a lengthy session." the squirrel assured.

Once the audience shifted their focus onto him the squirrel cleared his throat, "Okay, first of all I am pleased to say that overall crime for this quarter is down eight percent compared to last year's which has been credited to the new community outreach program we started and trust building among especially the youth who have lately expressed anti-police sentiments is up so I say thank you for that."

Nick was part of the campaign, he spoke with kids from his childhood neighborhood who were known to be untrustworthy towards police and for good reason as it was among the most heavily patrolled sections in Zootopia itself.

One moment that stuck with him was talking to a downtrodden family of capybaras headed by a young father who Nick suspected was suffering from depression and drug abuse, with his previous experience with the struggling parts of society he was able to convince the capybara to go to rehab while his kids were in school.

"Moving on, despite the decrease in overall crime unfortunately hate crime is on the rise, we can't be certain but based on the data collected we believe there has been continued growth of supremacists groups of both prey and predators and those connected have been engaging in such hate crimes." Liam explained to the officers.

The fox scoffed as his cynical side rationalized the situation, " _Of course this is happening, at the surface everything's hunky dory but scratch that and hate bleeds out..._ "

Judy was also distraught by the recent developments but she wasn't going to let that discourage her, "We have to do something." she said to Nick.

"I'm sorry Carrots but the reality is that trying to stop these guys often backfires pretty quickly for anyone especially for cops like us, case in point what happened to me." he told her.

"But innocent people could get hurt or even killed because of this, we can't let them get away!" she retorted.

"And what do you suggest we do hmm? We can't exactly walk up to hardcore supporters and politely ask them to stop."

The rabbit fumed, "There's gotta be something."

Nick cracked his neck, "If you do come up with something make sure it doesn't add unnecessary risk to our hides fluff."

Liam shifted through his papers, "Something important to bring up, we are doing background searches on all officers within the precinct, I won't delve into details behind the rationale but I'll just say its for the safety of our own officers and to prevent some mishaps later on."

"Background checks? This sounds weird, normally they do that when you first apply, not during service." Judy spoke out.

The squirrel nodded, "You're correct Officer Hopps but Bogo mandated it so effectively tomorrow we're going to inspect each officer."

Nick frowned, "This sounds like a violation of our privacy rights."

"In the contract you signed it says explicitly that during the time of your service you may be subjected to random checks. So really you can't object." Liam pointed out.

The fox grumbled, "Fine, do whatever you please then..."

On the corner of his eye he spotted Henry looking suddenly uncomfortable in his chair as he squirmed around and had a worried expression on his face. His behavior piqued the fox's interest, " _Wonder what's bugging him..."_

"Also Zootopia Stadium will be on high-security detail since it will be attended by some group called Shining Blue, they're very popular so they'll attract a large audience and as we are all familiar with by now, that invites trouble as well. In that respect, we'll be diverting some of our resources to managing the situation to augment the private security detail accompanying the group." Liam told the room.

"What do you say Carrots, thinking of taking up the job?" Nick asked her.

"It's tonight right? I guess I could help keep the peace and figure out who these people are."

Nick tried to conjure up any knowledge of the musical group, "I believe they're some kind of boy band, not my taste at all so I don't follow them but they are apparently really popular with teenage girls, but then again what boy band isn't?"

"Guess we'll find out then huh?" Judy said stretching her arms out.

Liam reached the end of his agenda, "To wrap up the meeting, I know you guys are feeling a little down but I'm being honest when I say that you guys have been doing a tremendous job. And with that next Monday we'll be hosting a special thank you party with food and entertainment provided at Central Park."

His announcement brought cheers from the audience, "And that concludes the meeting, thanks for being here and have a good rest of your day."

"Wasn't much of a meeting now was it? It took like...ten minutes." Nick commented.

Judy felt more energized, "It was okay and honestly that Liam guy is kind of cute."

He was humored by her observation, "Hmm, maybe you should talk to him. Ask if you want to get some coffee or something."

The doe was hesitant at his suggestion, "I don't know if I'm ready to start dating again yet."

"I get it, sooner or later you'll know when you are ready for that stuff again." Nick consoled the rabbit.

Quickly he realized he didn't have much to do since he wasn't actually assigned any actual task, "I should clock off early and head home to take a nice long nap." he mused.

"Wait you're not coming with me to the stadium?" Judy said surprised.

Nick yawned, "It's freezing outside and it might rain or even snow at any time. I highly doubt we're going to be inside the stadium the entire time and besides I left my coat at home."

"Hrmph, say what you want but I'm ready to do my job in any climate, it was what our training was for anyways."

The fox smiled, "Alright there's no need to keep telling me that you're going to do something, I believe you."

"Wanna grab some grub since we got nothing to do?" Nick suggested to the doe as they exited the board room.

She chuckled, "I would like to, but I have a scheduled training course with the coach on improving my paw to paw sparring."

Nick pretended to do some karate moves, "Is she going to teach some deadly techniques like how to stop someone's heart with a precise punch?" he said punching the air.

"That would be pretty cool, but I doubt the police need to learn something like that. It would be too difficult for some of the guys here to handle it though."

A thought crossed her mind, "I wonder..."

"What's up fluff?" Nick asked.

"It's been what...nearly two years or so since we first met?"

He nodded, "Sounds about right."

"We both changed a lot since then, you think that might be the reason why we bumped heads before?" she spoke out her thoughts.

Nick laid against the wall, "I would say that you're right about us changing but you know the reason why we had some conflicts earlier."

Judy sighed, "I know."

"To be blunt I didn't want to lose our friendship just because some buck got in between us, once you admitted your mistakes I was willing to give you some leeway." he admitted to her.

Judy scratched the base of her ear, "Really? I guess I kind of feel the same, I didn't want to just give up on this nice thing we have going. You're more or less the closest friend I have in the city, sure I have made others since I moved here but we've stuck with each other through thick and thin."

Nick played around with his pen, "At this point I feel that I'm close to forgiving you fully."

"Why not now?" the doe implored.

The fox stopped fumbling with the pen, "There's a certain other bunny in the equation."

Nick's secondhand mentioning of Jack drove the doe into silence for a moment, "Oh..."

"At the time I was sure that I would never forgive him but I guess time has a funny way of changing that. I'm still not exactly fond of the prospect but if Jack's willing to take full responsibility for his behavior then maybe I'll be merciful. Also I'll let you into a little secret."

Her ears perked, "Secret?"

"Let's just say I bumped into that particular bunny in question earlier."

She gasped, "R-Really? I mean, that's nice." She was about to prod the fox with questions about Jack's well-being but kept it to herself in fear she may upset the fox again.

"I will say that he's changed quite a bit since we last met, I guess he went through some revelation or something. Anyways, I saw him at Cody's pizza place with his kid, they both looked pretty happy so I guess they're doing fine. And as I was expecting he was super apologetic plus I didn't want to raise a ruckus about it so I kept my feelings to myself." he told her.

Judy was grateful to hear it, "That's good to hear. I was worried after what happened..."

The fox saw her drift off into thought, he could see that even now she still harbored some feelings for him.

"From I've seen he's doing fine now, it's likely he's moved on at this point. The same should apply to you." Nick advised.

Judy found herself agreeing with his sentiment, "Yeah, its all in the past now. I shouldn't get myself hung up on these things anymore, I'm better than that."

"Smart thinking from a dumb bunny, by the way didn't you have a sparring lesson to be at right now?" he teased.

The doe panicked, "Oh crap, I nearly forgot that it starts in like ten minutes, I gotta dress up for it!"

"Better hurry fluff, the locker room might be busy right about now." he said glancing at his watch.

Judy took off, "Catch you later!"

"What a champ." he muttered.

" _I'm telling you, we might be in trouble!"_

Nick overheard someone talking down the hallway, " _Hmm?_ _And what's going on here?"_

" _They might figure us out, what do you mean to stay calm?"_

The fox peeked his head around the corner and found Henry on the phone, " _He's looking nervous, what's got him acting up?"_

The wolverine paced back and forth, "I guess we'll just have to move along faster...yeah, we'll have to start as soon as we can. I'll talk to you later, bye."

Nick retreated from potential view once Henry hanged up the phone, " _Seems like Henry's up to something, should I even get involved?"_

His question was answered when the wolverine bumped to him, "Oh! Sorry Nick, didn't see you!"

The fox pretended not to have overheard the phone call, "It's cool Henry, so how was the meeting for you?"

"It was fine." he merely stated.

" _Strike one buddy._ Anything you took out of this?" he asked next.

Henry nervously smiled, "Um...the party?"

Nick nodded, "Hopefully its worthwhile huh? Shame about those background checks though, kind of puts a damper on the surprise huh?"

Once again the wolverine looked uncomfortable, "Y-Yeah it does."

"What's wrong?" Nick asked noting his reaction.

"Nothing! I'm just thinking about stuff I have to do later." he explained.

His explanation only served to further raise the fox's suspicions but Nick decided to play along, "Being an officer of the law does that to you. Anyways, you don't mind having lunch with me since I'm feeling pretty famished?" he inquired patting his stomach.

Henry retained his nervous smile, "Yeah, I was planning on having my lunch break right now actually."

Nick nodded, "We'll eat at the break room then."

The two walked over there and Nick opened the fridge to grab his lunch bag, "Today I'm having spaghetti and some Caesar salad from last night, what about you?"

Henry grabbed a container from the fridge, "Fried okra, green beans and mashed potatoes."

"Are you vegetarian?" Nick asked.

"Kind of, I'm still on a pretty strict diet so eating vegetables and fruits helps a lot to keep my weight down." Henry said.

"I can respect that, I can't go more than a few days before I start craving meat." Nick admitted.

Henry chuckled, "Same for me, it took several tries before I was able to kick the craving for good for the sake of my health and my career."

The two sat down at a table together, "It's been a while since we talked." Nick said as he twirled the spaghetti with his fork.

"Sorry, I've been pretty busy lately."

Nick shook his head, "It's no problem, I understand that sometimes there just isn't really time to chit-chat. But now at least we do."

Henry looked down at his food, "Yeah..."

"Are you sure you're doing fine Henry? You can talk to me." The fox assured him.

Henry sighed, "I've just been dealing with some stuff and I guess I was feeling distracted."

"Like what?" Nick further questioned.

"Just stupid stuff, nothing too big."

The fox wasn't satisfied with the answer, "Hey if its bothering you, you shouldn't just push it aside like it's nothing."

Henry looked around the room, "Well...I've been just caught up in something that is requiring my full attention."

"Oh? Do pray tell." Nick said in genuine interest.

"I don't know if I want to tell you, you're a nice guy and all but this isn't something I could just freely give out information about." Henry said in an apologetic tone.

"It'll be our little thing between us alright?" Nick assured him.

The wolverine had an uncertain expression, "I don't know if I can trust you."

Nick decided to use his uncertainty to his advantage, "I'm guessing you don't trust me because I'm a fox, I hope that's not the truth because it would definitely leave me wounded to hear that."

"N-No! It's not because you're a fox, it's just because...fine, I'll give you a snippet into what I'm doing but you better not tell a single soul about this!" Henry pleaded.

"My lips are sealed." Nick guaranteed.

Henry leaned closer to the fox and spoke in a hushed tone, "I'm working with some people outside, we're trying to um...convince some of the officers here of our plan."

Nick nodded, "Mm-hmm."

"I won't say what it is but it's something we've been working out for a couple of months now."

" _Working with outsiders on a plan? I'm already pretty sure where this is going, now how to coerce him into telling me."_

It would be a delicate piece of psychology to undertake, but the fox had a hunch that Henry was involved in something major.

"Is it something that would interest me?" the fox asked in a innocuous manner.

Henry glanced at him momentarily before returning his gaze towards his food, "I can't really say."

Nick retained his friendly demeanor, "Hey if it's such a difficult task for you that it distracts you from work, I could be of some help right?"

The wolverine tapped his fork on the table as he thought over Nick's words, "Maybe you can help me with something."

"I will tell you right now that I'm not a miracle worker but I'll do what I can to make it easier for you." he offered.

Henry nodded, "I'll think about it, I appreciate you wanting to help out."

"Of course. That's what friends are for right?" Nick said with his signature smirk.

The wolverine halfheartedly smiled, "Right."


	47. Chapter 46

"Wow is it cold today." Judy muttered shivering in her coat as the temperature outside continued to drop.

The doe was standing right outside the entrance to the underground hallways that stadium workers utilized to transport various equipment for different events. Today it was packed full as the entourage of the boy band and also some of the city's own employees were hard at work making sure that the concert went as smoothly as possible.

Across the vast parking lot was a large crowd of mostly girls in their teens and twenties who were already cheering and yelling as they awaited for the band to arrive. Judy deep down was relieved to not have been on crowd control as trying to make peace with the audience would've been very difficult especially with her diminutive size. Otherwise the doe was willing to brave the increasingly harsh climate to assist the rest of the crew with the concert but at the same time she was hoping for a warmer place to stay put during the concert.

"You doing okay there Hopps?"

The doe turned to Fangmeyer, "So far so good but I'm hoping we could move inside the place soon because I'm freezing my tail off." she replied huddling in her coat.

"Not typical of you to complain about the cold." the tiger said tilting her head in curiosity.

Judy rubbed her arms, "My fur isn't as thick as yours, I'm trying to stay warm by moving around but even with the coat staying outside for this long makes it really hard to do so."

"I see Wilde didn't show up with you." Fangmeyer said noticing the lack of the sarcastic fox.

Judy rolled her eyes, "He said that he didn't want to deal with the cold. In hindsight I guess he has a point, he wouldn't like standing here for this long."

The tigress chuckled, "We aren't going to be here much longer, the band should be here right about..."

Suddenly the cheering in the distance exploded into frantic screaming, "Now."

With limited visibility Judy could barely make out the members, there were three and one of them had bright enough fur that is was easy to distinguish from the rest of the crowd.

"Do you have any idea who they are?" Judy asked the tigress.

She shook her head, "Not a clue, I think of one of them is a rabbit..."

"A rabbit? I guess that whole multiplying thing means we're everywhere huh?" Judy joked.

"Seems like it. We'll get a closer look I'm sure since we're both working backstage." Fangmeyer said.

A surge of curiosity enveloped her, "I've never been backstage to a concert before. From what I seen on TV it looks like it gets pretty hectic in there."

"Who knows, maybe they'll give you an autograph." the tigress said smiling.

"I don't think that's going to happen. I'm sure they'll be plenty of fans waiting for them." Judy said still looking at the cheering crowd.

" _Officer_ _Hopps?"_ a voice spoke through the radio.

"Hopps speaking." she answered back.

" _The band has entered through to the backstage, you and Fangmeyer head over there."_

The doe nodded, "Copy that we'll be there."

Fangmeyer and Judy walked into the underground hallway, "This should be an easy job, just make sure they don't get mauled by a bunch of rabid fangirls."

The rabbit felt some anxiety from the thought, "That sounds pretty difficult."

Allow the way to backstage the hallway became increasingly crowded as more of the band's staff and entourage were at work to get them ready for the concert.

"Wow, how many people you think are working with the band right now?" Judy asked in awe.

Fangmeyer snorted, "Too many to be sure, it's just three kids..."

Once again Judy was surprised, "Kids? How old are they?"

"Old enough to still be in high school, hence them being a _boy_ band." the tigress emphasized

Once they reached the makeup room the manager standing in front of the door waved at them, "Over here!"

"Officer Hopps and Fangmeyer reporting for duty!" Judy asked ready for whatever she was told to do.

"Thanks for coming, listen there has been a few fans that have been selected to meet them in person. We need you two to be in the room to remind them that they can't be _too_ touchy." he instructed them.

"Don't you guys have bodyguards for that?" Fangmeyer questioned the manager.

He smiled awkwardly, "Bodyguard is a harsh term, we prefer security detail. Also company management believes that having the ZPD instead of what you call 'bodyguards' would present a more positive image for police officers among young people."

"Must be part of that outreach program huh?" the doe spoke out her thoughts.

"You could say it like that, to me it's just unnecessary fluffing but if it makes the city happy then there's not much I could say about it."

He tapped on the door behind him and shortly after it opened, "It won't take long, the stage opens in about half an hour. Just stand there and look pretty for the cameras alright?"

Fangmeyer frowned, "We're going to be on TV?"

"Close, its a live stream to Zootube." he answered before he opened the door fully.

Judy walked in and inside organized chaos reigned inside the room itself, all around the room people were rushing back and forth gathering outfits, makeup, recording equipment and food, it left the doe with a sense of alertness.

She turned to the manager, "So...where are they?"

He pointed to the left, "Straight down then to the left, you won't miss them trust me." he said before shutting the door.

Fangmeyer sarcastically groaned, "This is going to be a long day."

Judy patted the tigress' arm, "It won't be that bad, I think."

The two officers shuffled their way through the horde of people, "That's them right?" Fangmeyer asked the doe.

"Um...excuse me?" she called out to who she suspected was the band.

The deer looked up from his phone, "Oh, you must be Officer Hopps and Fangmeyer!" he spoke with a heavy accent.

Judy couldn't place where the accent came from but she was still able to understand him, "Its nice to meet you guys, and you are?"

"You can call me Pierce. It's not my real name but to make it easier you can call me by that." he said shaking her paw.

"And the other two?" Fangmeyer asked looking at the rabbit and the penguin.

"That's Quentin, _say hi to them Quentin_." the deer told the rabbit in their native language.

The young buck had light blonde fur splashed through his medium brown base and his young age was immediately apparent, "H-Hi, I'm Quentin, nice to meet you." he shakily greeted the doe with a small smile.

"How old is he?" Judy asked.

The deer ruffled Quentin's head, " _Stop it! Don't embarrass me in front of her!"_ the rabbit cried out.

"Just turned 15 last week. He's the 'baby' of the group. And the other's name is Ray." Pierce answered the doe ignoring his band mate's protesting.

The gray and blue penguin merely nodded holding up a peace sign, "Hello."

"Do they not know how to speak English?" the officer asked the deer.

Pierce chuckled, "Not really, it's not for lack of effort but they haven't been 'overseas' long enough to get a hang of the language."

"You're really good at it." Judy commented.

"Thanks, I've been practicing a lot since we formed our group last year, it helps that I lived in Zootopia for a few years before." the deer explained.

Judy stood by the couch where Quentin and Ray sat, "So, what made you start this band?"

"Well um, we sort of got together and started releasing videos on the internet. People loved it so much we made an album and one thing after another here we are. To be honest I'm kind of nervous since this is the first time we're performing in Zootopia and with such a large audience to boot." the deer said.

 _"_ _I'm hungry dude, why do you have to take so long to talk to someone?"_ Ray complained in the background.

"You'll do great, there's a reason why you guys have so many fans in the first place right?" Judy reminded him.

Pierce awkwardly chuckled, "I guess so."

"So what's your shtick then?" Fangmeyer asked Pierce.

The deer was puzzled by her, "Um...huh?"

"You know, what's your special talent? Do you have anything that makes the girls go wild, no pun intended?" the tigress asked smirking at him.

"Well I'm the one who sings, Quentin is a great dancer and Ray is one who plays the piano or guitar sometimes. But today we're mostly just going to sing together on stage while the rest of the guys handle everything else." he explained.

" _I'm also the one who gets all the ladies!"_ Ray added causing Pierce to look at him with a scolding expression.

Fangmeyer gave a toothy grin towards the other members sitting on the couch, "Can't wait to see what you guys are made of."

Quentin was frightened and started shaking on the couch, "D-Don't eat me. _I'm not good with big cats!_ "

"Aw, aren't you a cutie? I can see some of the appeal you have towards girls." Fangmeyer teased.

Pierce sighed, "Could you be nicer to him please? He's new to Zootopia and it's already pretty hard for him because of how differently things work here. _Calm down Quentin they're police officers I doubt you have enough meat on your bones to make for a tasty meal anyways._ "

" _It's not my fault my metabolism burns every calorie I consume!"_ Quentin shot back.

"Your manager said that some fans were coming here to get autographs right?" Judy asked Pierce.

The deer nodded, "Yeah, we do this every concert."

"I can't imagine having so many people love you like this, it sounds overwhelming." Judy expressed her bewilderment.

"You kind of get used to it, course once in a while one fan with a few screws loose might go a little too far though..." Pierce lamented.

His tone brought her to attention, "Like what?"

"I've been sent underwear by mail, several times." he said shuddering a little.

Judy grimaced, "Oh..."

In a way she was glad that Nick didn't accompany her as she suspected he would've sent more uncomfortable questions Pierce's way and his relative youthfulness along with him being a foreigner would only make things more awkward.

The band manager peeked his head through the door, "They're here."

Judy and Fangmeyer stood at attention, "Send them over." the tigress instructed.

Thankfully for the doe only a few fans were able to make it backstage, but even then all of them were in shock and excitement over meeting their favorite celebrities in person.

"How should we do this?" Judy asked Fangmeyer as the fans slowly approached them.

"We're supposed to keep control, so let's do exactly that." she replied.

The doe nodded and turned her attention to the fans, "Okay, single file! They'll be more than happy to sign your autograph so please be orderly!"

The three band members smiled at the fans and Pierce took the role of conversing with them, "Thanks for the support! Please continue to send your love towards us as we perform on stage." he said.

The fans cheered and one of them started tearing up already, the first one who was clearly nervous held up her album cover, " _I love you so much Pierce_!" she declared in his native language.

"I appreciate that thanks!" he happily replied while signing her album cover.

Judy couldn't help but feel some joy seeing his elated fans having their dreams come true, "This isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be huh?" she asked Fangmeyer.

The tigress nodded, "Those three are lucky, they have a huge pool of potential girlfriends and they're still just kids."

The doe could see her point with the three members being gushed over, "Hopefully it keeps them happy."

"Can I have a kiss from Ray?" one of the fans asked.

Pierce was surprised at the request, "Uh... _Ray, she wants to kiss you."_

" _Really? Just send her to my hotel room later."_ the penguin answered back.

" _We're not going to sleep with them Ray..._ " Pierce groaned.

" _I was just joking, course I'll give her a kiss."_

Judy watched astonished that the penguin planted a kiss right on the wallaby's lips, "That seems a little questionable."

"I'm sure most teenage boys would take advantage of a willing fan like that, doesn't really shock me." Fangmeyer said.

The wallaby was giddy, "Oh my god! He kissed me! This is the best day of my life!" she yelled out hopping up and down.

" _Wow one kiss was enough to get her jumping, she could put those legs to good work in bed."_ Ray said to Pierce.

" _Just because they can't understand us doesn't mean you can say whatever you want. Our manager might hear us."_ The deer attempted to tone down the penguin.

"Everything seems to be going smoothly for now." Judy muttered, but deep down something kept bugging her not to get complacent.

* * *

Nick stared outside the window into the gray world beyond, "Hope Carrots found somewhere warm to do her job..."

"Hey Nick!" Henry called out.

The fox turned around to greet the wolverine, "What's up?"

"I found something you can do to help me out with this um... _little thing_ I have." he said.

Nick's ears were raised, "Already? That didn't take long."

Henry huffed, "Sorry, anyways we're going to meet someone right outside the building. She won't bite but please try not to make any quick moves alright? It took plenty of assuring for her to come here."

"Roger, lead the way."

Exiting through the back of the building Henry stopped right at the bottom of the stairs in a discrete corner, "She should be here any second."

Nick looked around checking to see if any officers were in the area but it seemed to be just them for now, "Can you tell me what's happening?"

"We're on a mission right now." Henry stated.

"Sounds fancy, what's the mission about?" Nick asked next.

The wolverine remained silent, leaving Nick to only stand there next to him and speculate.

"She's here." Henry said after receiving a text from his phone.

"Where?"

" _Right here._ " she called out to them.

She was underneath the stairwell, "Nice to see you again Henry, its been a while."

The wolverine moved towards her, "Yeah, ZPD's been keeping me busy."

Nick couldn't make out who it was since the person was covered in a hoodie and wore a mask with sunglasses, but she was about the same height as him.

"Ready to get things started?" she asked Henry.

"Ready as ever. Officer Wilde has volunteered to help with our mission." he told the masked female.

She scoffed, "We don't need dead weight."

"I can assure you I'm not." Nick retorted with a polite smile.

Even with the sunglasses she glared at the wolverine, "You're going to watch his every move, if he moves an inch out of line I'm taking him out got it?"

Henry sighed, "I know."

As no one in the police department knew of the fox's location or where he was going, once again he was going to have to depend on his own instincts to bail him out of trouble, after what happened last time Nick was more skeptical of both's motives.

"Listen, I offered myself to help my buddy in any way I can. There's no sinister plot behind what I'm doing." Nick said holding his paws up.

"Did you even tell him what we're doing?" she questioned the wolverine.

"I mean, sort of..." Henry said looking away.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, "Damn it, I guess we have no choice since we're running tight on time right now. I assume you can handle yourself?" she then asked the fox.

Nick grinned, "I didn't go to a training academy just for kicks you know. You don't need to worry about me."

Underneath his sly demeanor the fox already started questioning whether or not it was even worth going along in the first place, " _You're playing with fire here Nick."_

"We're heading to the stadium, that's where we're going to execute our move." she instructed the fox.

Nick's tail momentarily stiffened, " _The stadium? But that's where Judy is."_

"Hopefully by the time we get there our target will be easy to apprehend." Henry said staring off to the direction of the stadium.

"Target? What do you mean target?" Nick asked them.

The anonymous person began walking to a car parked on the side of the road adjacent to the parking lot, "A person of interest, he's integral to our future objectives."

Nick frowned, "We're going in your car?"

"And what's the problem with that?" she said turning to him.

"Wouldn't it look pretty suspect that two police officers are riding in a civilian vehicle? Also if anything happens they can track your license plate number." he said in concern.

She already was getting annoyed with the fox, "And what do you want to do then? Walk to the stadium? By the time we get there the guy we are looking for will be long gone."

Henry shrugged, "We could just take one of the police cars over there, no one will suspect anything."

Nick nodded in agreement, "He's right. Let's do that."

"Fine, whatever. Make it quick." she prompted.

Once Nick was able to retrieve a vehicle, they made straight for the stadium.

"While we're heading there, you care to enlighten me on who the 'target' is? And if I may ask your name as well?" Nick asked.

"Call me Blue for now. Also, I won't disclose the target's name to you until after we capture him, but he's a dingo." she said before pulling up a picture on her phone.

"What a looker." Nick sarcastically commented.

"Anyways he's not going to be an easy person to handle so watch yourself Wilde." she warned.

"Is she always like this?" Nick asked Henry.

"She's a bit more tense than usual, but I don't blame her." the wolverine answered.

Nick saw the reflection of himself through the mirror and noticed his fur lost some of its shimmer, "Crap, I forgot to put conditioner on this morning, now I look just like any other street fox." he lamented.

"Really? We're on an important mission right now and all you can think about is your fur?" Blue remarked.

"Hey image is important too you know, how else are the good citizens of Zootopia going to respect me if I don't even take care of my own appearance?"

Henry withheld a snicker, "Come on Nick, you only look a few years _older."_ he teased.

"Don't say that! I'm still young, just a bad fur day." the fox fretted still glancing occasionally at himself in the mirror.

Blue groaned in the back, "This is not what I was expecting."

Nick parked the cruiser next to the others that were already in the parking lot, "Okay we're here. So tell me exactly how we are going to do this?"

Blue exited the vehicle, "Our guy is going to be inside the stadium, once we find him immediately apprehend him."

"It looks pretty crowded, can't really try to kidnap someone if there's a bunch of people surrounding us." Nick pointed out.

She pointed at his badge, "You're wearing a uniform, just arrest him."

Henry tapped Nick's shoulder, "Blue will take the north side of the stadium, we'll take the south."

The fox nodded, "Sounds like a plan. Not a very elaborate one if I may add."

Since Henry and Nick were able to pass off as officers on assignment, passing through security was a breeze and soon they were inside the outer ring of the stadium.

"Ooh, churros!" Henry exclaimed seeing the concession stand.

Nick rolled his eyes, "One, we're not here for fun and also, three bucks for one churro?"

"It's the size of my arm!" the wolverine said trying to rationalize the exorbitant pricing.

"Come on Henry stop screwing around." the fox said pulling his arm.

"Aw! But churros!" he cried out looking longingly at the treats.

Nick smirked, "You're sounding like a little kit right now. Don't make me start treating you like one."

"Hold up, Blue's calling me...Hello?"

" _Any sign of him?"_ she asked.

"Nada. We're still outside the concert grounds though, we'll check there next." he told her.

" _Hurry, we might not have much time."_ she said before hanging up.

Nick pointed to the hallway leading to the concert, "This way."

The fox scrunched his face seeing the massive crowd in front of them, "There's gotta be a way to see better."

Henry and Nick weren't particularly tall so it was going to be difficult to spot the dingo in the massive cheering crowd.

"I'm already getting an earache from this, we need to find this guy already." Nick said to Henry rubbing his ear, then suddenly a idea popped up in his head when he spotted one of the officers standing nearby.

"Yo! Nielsen!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

The giraffe barely heard him over the background noise, "Oh hey Wilde! What are you doing here?"

Nick dashed to him, "Never mind that, I'm looking for someone so is it okay if I asked for a boost?"

"I don't see why not!" Nielsen affirmed craning down his neck, "Hop on!"

Nick complied and at near the top of his neck he was granted a much better view of the concert grounds, "I'm looking for a dingo!" Nick mentioned to the giraffe.

Nielsen nodded, "I'll keep a lookout."

The fox used his sharp vision to eek out individuals who may fit the description of the target, but so far nothing was coming up.

"Hrm, I don't see anyone who looks like him. Maybe I should tell Henry..." Nick muttered.

Nielsen turned to his right, "I see a dingo over there."

Nick followed his direction, "Well I'll be a son of a vixen, thanks Nielsen!"

"You want me to help out?" the giraffe asked as the fox slid down his neck.

"Nah, I got it from here, thanks though." Nick said before pushing his way through the crowd.

The fox quickly caught up the dingo who seemed to be on the phone, " _Having a conversation are we? Shame if a certain fox had to interrupt it."_

Nick sneaked up behind and after getting close enough he grabbed the dingo's arm, "Gotcha!"

"H-Hey! Let go! Security!" he wailed out.

"I'm the police buddy, you're coming with me!" Nick said trying to pull the dingo.

"Let go!" he cried out resisting.

The fox grunted as he continued to attempt to pull him, "Damn, you're heavy!"

"Nick!" Henry called out.

"Henry, help me with this dude!"

The wolverine panted, "I'm coming! Hold on!"

The two pushed the dingo down to the ground and Nick pulled out his pawcuffs, "You're coming with me!"

"You won't get away with this!" the dingo cried out.

Nick smirked, "It seems like I already have mister."

Henry dialed Blue's number, "Yeah, we got him...right, we'll be there. She said to meet her at the storage facilities."

By the time they got there Blue was already waiting right outside the door, "Good work Wilde, I guess I was wrong about your abilities."

He winked, "Glad to prove it."

She opened the door and switched on the light, "Here." she said tossing a rope to Henry.

Inside the room there were various sporting equipment, but little else besides a metal chair in the middle of the room.

The dingo trembled in fear but remained defiant, "You can't make me talk!" he spat.

Henry tied him to the chair, "I probably can't. But she _will."_

Nick suddenly felt uneasy, "Whoa now, we're just going to ask him what he's doing here right?"

"Not with the way he's acting." she said before removing her mask.

"What the hell? Skye?" Nick said in disbelief.

Skye gave him a tired, yet friendly smile, "Long time no see Nick."

"But why?" he asked still taking in the sudden turn of events.

She cracked her neck, "Well after my...falling out with Jack I decided to lay low for a while with Phil and Em. But I guess even doing that wasn't enough to keep us out of trouble."

"So what's the deal with this guy?" Nick said looking at the dingo.

"His name is Terrance and he's a member of the Pathfinders." she informed him.

Nick realized then what was going on, "You're still fighting against them?"

Henry nodded, "She needed some help, so she informed me of what was going on. Sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but there's been rumors of a 'mole' inside the department that is working with the group to recruit more police officers and also to sabotage prey in training, I couldn't trust other pred officers for sure until I knew."

Nick remembered when Vanessa mentioned that also, "So what's Terrance got to do with this?"

"He's the in between guy for the recruiter and the rest of the organization. We caught wind of him when we spotted him leaving one of the meetings and then him having a chat with the recruiter."

Terrance growled, "You cunts think ya clever, well joke's on you because as soon as they find out I've been kidnapped they'll go after him."

The red fox frowned at the dingo, "Who's him?"

"That poof Jack Savage that Skye used to fuck." the dingo said grinning darkly, "Let's just say that Jack is going to have a nice surprise waiting for him."

Skye balled her fists, "Leave Jack out of this."

"And why should I do that? Jack's been a major pain in the ass and the sooner we get rid of him and his son the easier our job will be!" he said before laughing.

Henry looked at Skye, "What should we do?"

"We have to stop them before they kill Jack and William." the arctic fox told the wolverine.

"Too late for that, as soon as I was so rudely removed from speaking with my friend they knew that something has gone wrong. As we speak they're already making their move." Terrance explained.

Before Skye could attack the dingo Henry held her back, "No Skye! It ain't worth it!"

"He's going to get Jack killed!" she growled baring her claws and teeth.

"Cut it out Skye for real, killing him ain't going to do much good for us." Nick told her.

The arctic fox finally relented, "Fine."

Nick waltzed over to the dingo, "I've been inside the organization before, you know a certain girl named Vanessa?"

"Yeah, what's it to ya?" Terrance spat.

Nick smiled assuredly, "If you're nice to us, I'll set you free and won't turn you into the police."

The dingo chuckled, "Like I'm going to fall for that stupid trick."

"Figured as much. Yoink!"

Terrance realized that the fox took his phone, "Hey! I need that!" he said squirming in his chair.

Nick dangled the phone in front of the dingo's face, "And? I'm certain we can hack into your phone anyways so what are you going to say about it?"

He tossed the phone over to Henry, "Can you do anything to break into his phone?" Nick asked.

"Um..." he held it up, "He didn't even lock it." he said in a deadpan manner.

Nick turned back to the dingo, "Really? You didn't put a passcode on it?"

Terrance nervously smiled, "I didn't think anyone would take it?"

Nick retrieved it back from Henry, "Let's see here, open the photos app..."

"No wait!" the dingo pleaded.

"Oh ho, someone is a _big_ fan of playing dress up. I see being a Princess is a pastime for you?" he said pointing out the picture.

"It was a bet!" Terrance countered.

"There's multiple pictures of you, this one's my favorite though. The pink dress fits you well." Nick teased.

Henry squinted at the picture of the dingo doing a suggestive pose, "I-I think I need to see a therapist." he said disturbed at the image.

"Would be a shame if I happened to share it on Snapcat..." Nick said twirling his finger around the screen.

"Y-You can't! I'll be a laughingstock for the rest of my life!" the dingo said.

Nick stood behind the dingo and knelt down to his ear, "Tell us who's pulling the strings behind this thing you have with the rogue officer and maybe I'll give it back."

"It was Vanessa, she's been doing some of her own operations okay? Now please let me have my phone back!"

The fox gave Terrance an amused face, "You sweet innocent soul, you expected me to give up this goldmine?"

"But you promised!" Terrance cried out.

"I knew crackpots like to join these sorts of organizations, just didn't know that people like _you_ were also." he said taking another look at the photos, "Why even have these on your phone anyways?"

Skye nodded towards Nick, "Looks like we got to pay Jack a visit."

Nick wasn't looking forward to it but knowing him and his son were in possible danger he agreed, "Sounds like it. Let's not pull Carrots into this since she's busy doing something else here."

"Judy is here also?" Skye asked surprised.

The fox smiled, "Trying to keep the public safe, I hope you aren't thinking any ill will towards her."

The vixen shook her head, "I have other things to worry about than getting into a fight with her again."

Henry had a worried look on his face, "If Jack gets attacked, who knows what other plans the Pathfinders might cook up. They may even team up with the rest of the predator groups."

"I'm not letting that happen. Henry, this may get intense so if you want to back off now I won't fault you." Skye informed the wolverine.

"You kidding? I became an officer because I wanted to protect the city, it would go against everything I stand for to chicken out now." Henry proudly stated.

Nick laid a paw on Terrance's shoulder, "Should I escort him to the precinct?"

Skye shook her head, "There's no time." she said before pulling out a gun and pointing it at the dingo's head, "Sorry about this."

"Huh? But wait I gave you want you wanted!" the dingo said shaking in fear.

Nick stood in front of him, "Let's not make this any more bloody than it has to be Skye, I know deep down you want peace just like I do."

The arctic fox sighed, "Just put him in the slammer then, he won't hurt anybody there."

"I'll call for someone to take him." Nick said grabbing his radio.

Henry smiled happily, "Thanks for not killing him Skye."

"Guess I'm getting tired of shooting people, but I'm sure we'll have to resort to that when we get to Jack's place." Skye lamented.

Nick wasn't too familiar with Skye despite meeting her before once, but he knew that the arctic fox still was just like him. A person wanting to bring peace to the city, even if it meant resorting to violence. He wasn't sure if it was causing difficulty for her to have to kill others but he wasn't going to ask, he had enough concerns on his plate.

"Carrots told me everything that happened between you and him, after hearing that I doubt Jack's going to be happy to see you." Nick speculated.

Skye closed her eyes, "I knew at some point we were going to meet again since this group wants to get rid of both of us. I know Jack probably is afraid or even hates me right now and believe me I wouldn't be doing this if I had a choice...but I don't."

Nick was both confused and startled by her, "You still care about Jack? What made you change your mind?"

Even with just her eyes Nick saw that there was some guilt, "It's not really Jack I'm concerned about, I'm sure he can take care of himself. But its William I'm worried for, he can't survive with his lack of experience."

Nick scratched his chin, "What makes you think Jack won't protect his son? It's common knowledge that attacking someone's kid is probably the best way to anger them."

"Jack can't protect both himself and William at the same time. He's going to need all the help he can get. After that, I'm going to knock the Pathfinders off for good." Skye expressed her determination.

"I'll help you Skye, what you have been doing is admirable and I want to be a part of that." Henry assured the vixen.

"I've seen Jack and to tell you the truth I feel that he's changed a lot. And I can't say whether or not Jack's moved on from you, but I'm sure he'll be grateful if you save him and his kid from getting smoked. Come on, we should get going before it's too late." Nick told both of them.


	48. Chapter 47

William sighed as he pulled up the car to the driveway, "We're finally home."

Jack stretched his legs and arms, "We've been away longer than I thought we would be."

"About two hours, I guess the detour to the pizza place made our trip last a lot longer than we were planning." The cat said pressing the button on the dashboard to pop open the trunk.

"You have any other plans for the rest of the day?" his father asked grabbing the grocery bags from the trunk.

William shrugged, "Just gonna do my homework and maybe read a book or watch TV."

"You could visit your friends, I wouldn't mind if you did." his father suggested.

The cat shook his head, "Nah, I'm too full to even think about walking any more than a block to them. If they want to hang out, they'll come over here."

"I'll be in the shed then." Jack said mentioning the small building in the backyard.

William yawned, "You're working out again?"

"I'm trying to get back in shape, eating half a pizza is a major setback." Jack said patting his stomach.

The cat wasn't convinced, "You're going to nap on the couch again aren't you?"

Jack had a guilty smile on his face, "Just to regain my energy then I'll start my running on the treadmill."

"Whatever, I better not see you dozing the rest of the day off otherwise I'm dragging your fat ass to the shed myself." his son warned jokingly.

"This fat ass will kick yours before you could even touch me." the rabbit responded to the threat.

"You always were a punk whenever someone made fun of your physique. I'll be in my room." William told his father after placing some of the groceries away.

Jack waited until he was sure that his son was in his room, "Let's see here...bingo."

The buck found the cupcakes and grinned in anticipation of the treat, "One couldn't hurt."

As he was about to open the wrapper he heard a car screeched to a stop in front of his house, "What the hell's going on now?"

There was a loud banging noise upstairs which frightened him, "Jesus, what is going on up there? _"_

He dashed up the stairs with some difficulty from his still full stomach, "You okay there?"

" _Dad!"_ his son yelled through the door.

The buck swung the door open and saw his son being dragged through the window, "William!"

Jack grasped his son's paw briefly but whoever was pulling him was much stronger than the buck and the cat slipped from his grip, "Help!"

The rabbit looked down and saw a tiger holding him hostage, "Let him go!"

He quickly ran through his home and through the front door to confront the kidnapper, "What the fuck are you doing with my son?"

"Sorry Jack, looks like your time's up. We'll be taking him now." the tiger told the bunny pulling out a gun.

Jack froze on the spot knowing that no matter what he did he was an easy target, "What do you want from me? Money? I have plenty to give!"

The tiger grinned, "Your son will be good enough." he said choke-holding the cat.

"I-I can't breathe!" William gasped trying to pry himself free.

"Don't hurt him! Please I'll do whatever you want!" Jack begged holding his paws together.

Another tiger accompanied him, "You really lost your edge huh?" she teased the buck, "It would be so easy to slice your son's neck open."

Jack watched in horror as she dragged a claw lightly on his son's neck, "No, please I'll do anything!" he said already devolving in tears.

The male tiger further tightened his arm around William, "Luckily for you there's one thing that you can do for us."

"Anything!" Jack cried out.

"Cornerstone Warehouse, that's where you'll find us. Deliver yourself to us and we'll let your son go without a scratch on him, don't come and I guess this little guy's history." the tigress said.

William looked at his father in exasperation, "You're not going to really do that? This is obviously a trap, they'll kill us both anyways!"

"I'm willing to risk it, I won't let them kill you." Jack asserted.

The tigress smiled at the cat, "He really is your Dad huh? How sweet."

Jack gritted his teeth, "You're monsters."

The two tigers turned around and headed for their car, "You got an hour Jack." she stated.

"An hour?" Jack cried out in disbelief.

The tiger tossed William in the trunk, "Don't bump your head!"

"We won't harm him too much, as long as you bring yourself to us. Your choice." The tigress told him as she entered inside the car.

The buck watched in despair as they drove off into the distance with his son, " _One hour_..."

"Jack!"

The buck saw Skye with Nick and Henry running towards him, "Skye?"

She looked at the distraught rabbit, "Shit, we're too late!"

Nick noticed the tire tracks on the lawn, "Where's William?"

"They took him..." Jack muttered.

Skye froze in shock, "Took him?"

Suddenly the buck transitioned from grief into fury, "This is all your fault!"

Jack leapt and tackled her onto the ground, "You're the reason why they came here, and now he's gone!" Jack said pressing his paws onto her neck.

"J-Jack wait!" Skye wheezed.

"Get off her!" Nick yelled before he shunted the buck off of her.

Jack stared at the two foxes with hatred in his teary eyes, "He's gone because of you bastards."

Nick shook his head, "You're wrong Jack, he's been kidnapped because they chose to do that. Not because we made them."

"I'm going over there to get him back, _alone_." the buck emphasized.

"Are you crazy? They want you there so that they can finish you off once and for all." Henry told the buck.

Jack turned away from them, "Doesn't matter, he's my son and it's my job to protect him."

"And what exactly are you going to do once you get there?" Skye asked the buck.

"Whatever it takes to keep him alive, I'll even exchange my own life for his if it comes to that."

Nick crossed his arms, "That may be the dumbest thing I've ever heard from you and that's saying a lot."

Jack sneered at Nick, "Fuck off, I don't know why you came here anyways, let alone with _her_. Maybe you two decided to fuck each other now huh? Just to rub it in my face!" he declared in an antagonistic tone.

"Nick is here because Henry brought him along to help me out. There's nothing going on between us Jack." Skye explained.

"Oh yeah? Well, I don't appreciate _mangy_ foxes in my sight, get off my fucking property you cunts." Jack said seething with anger.

Skye started to growl in agitation, "Damn it Jack, I'm trying to help you and all your doing right now is being a brat!"

Jack stood firm despite the looming threat of a physical altercation, "You already know the things I did behind your back Skye, you're the one who ended the relationship. Why do you even bother coming back here? Just to start another fucking fight? Come on then, do your fucking worse!"

"Why would I come here just to fight you? If it weren't for the fact I was sure that some goons were going to wack you and William I wouldn't dream of coming over here!" she retorted.

Jack kept close tabs on her body language for any signs of an imminent attack, "As if you clawing me in the face wasn't clue enough, we're over Skye. Done."

She stamped her foot, "You don't think I fucking know that? That's not the reason why I came here, I'm not trying to salvage whatever we had before Jack."

The longer the two fought, the more Jack lost that initial urgency to save his son and inside he began to question whether he was fit at all to even do anything.

Jack took a deep breath forcing himself to calm down, "You know what? Fine. You're right, you aren't here because you're trying to my life worse."

"Finally you get what I'm trying to say, now we can please set aside our differences for now and save William?" the hopeful vixen asked.

The buck sauntered around the lawn for a while debating whether or not it would be wise to depend on the help of two people he scorned earlier, "Looks like I don't have much of a fucking choice now do I?"

Nick shook his head, "Not unless you're planning a funeral."

Jack frowned, "No, that's for god damn sure. Nick, I know we had our own little tiffs before but you still mind doing this?"

The fox smiled, "When a life is at stake I can't really afford to be petty, consider it done."

"I take it your friend is coming along then?" the buck asked them glancing at the wolverine.

Henry gave a thumbs up, "It's my duty."

Skye joined up with the wolverine, "See? All we want to do is help you Jack."

The buck scratched his neck, "I guess I got a little carried away, I shouldn't have yelled at you three."

"I understand why you are so angry right now, you have every right to be considering William's just been kidnapped. I'm just asking you to allow us to help you." Skye told him.

It took another moment before Jack would accept the fact that he was in need, "For my son, I'll take anything."

"So...where did they take him?" Nick asked stuffing his paws in his pockets from the cold.

"Cornerstone Warehouse, the two tigers that kidnapped my son said to meet them there." Jack explained.

"Let me guess, Vanessa and Ben." the fox speculated.

The rabbit tried to recall the details about their appearance, "I guess?"

"Figures it would be them. I guess trying to avoid conflict over there just isn't going to work out."

"You know where it is?" Skye asked him.

"Been there before, not exactly a savory place but it makes sense that they want Jack there so they could have him where they want him."

The fox turned to Henry, "Check to make sure there's other officers in the area in case we need backup."

"Got it, I'll alert whatever guys are out there about the situation." Henry affirmed.

"I'm just relieved Carrots has her own thing going, I don't want her to get involved in whatever's going to happen." Nick said counting his blessings.

Jack sat down on the grass, "I'm glad to hear that, it would've been so much more stressful if she was here as well."

Skye was going to question whether he still liked Judy or not but she didn't want to open up that can of worms, "Anyways, we need to get a move on for the warehouse then. Who knows what they plan to do to William if we don't show up."

Nick drove the group to the destination, "Here it is lady and gentlemammals. Cornerstone Warehouse, home of the scummiest preds you'll meet in Zootopia." Nick announced to three others as they walked down the sidewalk.

"There's no one here, its honestly kind of concerning." Henry commented on the lack of others in the area.

Skye got out of the vehicle, "Good, less causalities to worry about."

Nick and Henry nodded at each other, "When the going gets tough, call the department in." Nick told the wolverine.

"Got it, hopefully it won't come to that." the wolverine said.

The warehouse itself was surrounded by a tall fence however Nick was familiar with some of the layout of the building itself from earlier, "We'll go through the back, there's a door I spotted when I was here last time."

"What were you doing here?" Skye asked as she heaved Nick over the fence.

The red fox winked, "Reconnaissance, you guys aren't the only ones doing spy stuff."

Henry was the last to hop over the fence with the help of Nick and Jack pulling him up, "Okay, now what?" the wolverine asked.

Nick recalled the interior of the warehouse, "If we go through the entrance, we'll be inside the offices."

"You think anyone will be in there?" Skye said trying to spot others in the building.

"I don't know, we'll need to stay silent so that we can find William and get outta here without having to use our guns." Nick said.

Reaching the back door he pushed down on the handle but to no avail, "Does anyone know how to pick a lock?"

Jack and Skye raised their paws and then looked at each other, "I'm the quicker one Jack, you know that."

The buck stood aside, "As you wish."

Skye dug out a pin and began poking inside the keyhole, "Seems pretty easy, give me a second."

Henry kept a lookout by peeking over the corner, "Someone's coming, hurry up Skye!"

The vixen stuck her tongue out, "Got it!" she said opening the door.

The four dashed inside and Skye locked it again, "Where to next Nick?"

Nick glanced around noting the rather barren corridor, "Looks like we're heading upstairs, that's I believe where the office should be." he said spotting the stairs at the end of the hallway.

Jack's ear twitched, "We're being followed." he said hearing faint footsteps in the distance.

The buck tired to decipher what species they belong to, "They're getting closer, doesn't sound like a large person."

Nick pulled out his gun, "Might be someone wanting to say hi to us."

Henry stood beside Nick, "It's just one against four, we shouldn't have too much trouble."

As soon as the unknown individual arrived Nick quickly recognized who it was, "Wait a minute, it's Carl!"

The young dingo groaned and held his head, "Who's there?"

"What are you doing here? Didn't I told you before that you shouldn't be in places like this?" Nick reprimanded the teen.

Carl shuddered, "It hurts so much, I can't see!"

The fox ran to him, "Must be a bad headache and with you here I can only guess what they did to you. Call you tell me what happened?"

It took a moment for the dingo to gather his thoughts, "They told me that my brother was arrested by some cops, and that in order to save him I had to take these drugs."

The fox growled, "They injected you with the serum too, what evil people they are doing this to children."

Nick held his paws on Carl's shoulders, "We're going to get you the help you need. Who's your brother?"

"T-Terrance Jones."

Skye rubbed her forehead, "Great, first him and now his brother. What luck we're having..."

Jack rushed to him, "Have you seen my son?"

"Calm down Jack, he's in a lot of pain right now." Nick told the buck.

"He's a cat, about this tall, brown fur, green eyes. His name is William." Jack described hoping that the dingo would know something.

"I-I don't know, there were others with me at this room upstairs but I can't remember who they were exactly."

Jack began feeling the urgency again, "Looks like we found the next place to look."

"Seems like it, but first we need to rescue him and the others stuck in here." Nick told the others.

Carl's knees buckled and he lost his standing ability requiring the fox to assist him, "I feel tired..."

"I know what you're going through Carl, just stay with me okay? We'll get you outta this mess." he consoled the dingo.

"My parents are going to kill me when they find out." the teen replied.

Nick offered a comforting smile, "Much better than suffering inside a barren warehouse with dangerous people, that's for sure."

Jack crossed his arms, "I would guess that since only he came down, they're probably waiting for me considering they didn't bring any others down here."

Skye leaned on the wall, "That's what they told you right? Bring just yourself to them?"

The agent nodded, "And if we're going to have a chance to save my son, then I'm going to do as they proposed. You three should concentrate on rescuing everyone else who may be held captive over here."

"It's a very risky idea Jack, what if they don't hold onto their promise?" Henry asked.

The rabbit shrugged, "I guess I'm good as dead then. But regardless of that William's up there and god knows what they are doing to him. Just the thought of it drives me mad."

"What should we do with Carl then?" Henry then asked.

Nick held onto the dingo, "We can't keep him here, but we can't leave Jack alone either."

"I can take him to the hospital if you want." Henry offered.

The fox shook his head, "We can't risk you getting caught by the Pathfinders here. We need to find a safe spot for Carl while we rescue William."

"How about this room?" Skye pointed to the windowed door.

Nick took a glance inside and saw there was enough room to temporarily keep the dingo safe, "This isn't the best option, but it's the only one we have."

He opened the door and laid the dingo down on the floor, "I'll be back, I promise."

The dingo took uneasy breaths, "I don't want to die here, I miss Mom and Dad."

Nick took off his police jacket and laid it over the dingo's upper body, "You'll see them again. It's my duty as an officer to see that you're returned safely to your home."

Carl sniffed, "T-Thank you."

"Will he be okay in there?" Jack asked the fox.

Nick closed the door, "To be brutally honest, I'm not sure. But it's the best change he's got for survival."

"I'm so sorry for bringing this upon you Nick, if there was anything else I could've done to help-"

"No more apologies Jack, we're on a mission right now and that's saving your kid." The fox affirmed.

Jack closed his eyes, "We are, thank you for everything so far."

"Save that for later, let's get this done and then you can start spouting whatever you want to say." Nick said patting Jack's shoulder.

"Listen, when William is released I want you to take him and any others you find here and take them straight to the police station alright?" the rabbit instructed the officer.

Nick groaned, "Don't be stupid Jack, you're coming with us."

"I'm just accounting for the fact that I may not be alive after this. So please, in case anything happens to me I want you to take my son with you over there and keep him until it's safe for him to be by himself."

The red fox looked towards the vixen and wolverine who seemed unaware of Jack's plead, "Fine, if you don't come out of this building after we get your kid I'll assume you kicked the bucket and I'll take him straight to the precinct. But I'm not going to babysit William got it?"

Jack smiled gratefully, "I understand. Now let's go."


	49. Chapter 48

"You sure you know what you're getting into?" Skye asked him as the group continued up the stairs.

Jack rolled his shoulder to pop a joint, "Something like that, though I have to admit that since all of this happened in such a short time part of me is still trying to accept it as reality. At times I feel that I may have a few screws loose or some other."

"I doubt you need to see a therapist, it's all the stress you've been enduring that's making you go a little cuckoo." Nick suggested to the buck.

"I hope you're right Nick, but after this I'm going to have a chat with the shrink just in case." Jack replied, "I'm not going to use that as an excuse for all the poor decisions I made before but perhaps it's part of the reason why I'm not exactly sure-footed."

"What makes you think you have a problem?" Henry inquired.

"Let's see...alcoholism, past child abuse, mental breakdowns, the occasional nightmare, paranoia..." Jack listed off.

Henry winced, "Okay okay, I think I'm getting the picture."

"I'm sure I'm good enough with decision making though, how else am I still here?"

Nick wasn't entirely convinced by Jack's argument, "I would rate you pretty low on smart decisions, but somehow you managed to survive as an agent to this day so maybe you have the luck instead keeping you going."

Skye momentarily halted her advance, "Jack."

"Yeah?"

"I've been thinking about it for a bit and it may seem sudden to ask but let me take care of William if something happens to you. He'll need someone until at least he's ready to take care of himself."

Jack frowned, "Do you even have a place for him to stay in? I don't want him to be in any precarious living conditions, especially since he's leaving for college soon."

"I got a place for us, you don't need to worry about his safety. I'll make sure no one harms him." she assured him.

Henry smiled at the rabbit, "Sounds better than him being holed up at the precinct don't you think?"

"Well, there's not much else for him except shipping him back to the UK to live with the rest of my family and that's not something I want to put him through. William's familiar enough that he'll trust you I'm sure."

Skye raised an eyebrow, "Is that a yes or no?"

"I'll allow you to be his caretaker, but I highly doubt it'll come to that." Jack quickly added onto the end.

Nick scratched his head, "Don't be too sure, if you're really going to confront them alone the chances of you and your kid making it out in one piece is pretty slim."

"There's no turning back now." Jack said in finality.

They reached the wide double door, "Alright we're here, you three stay back here okay?"

"Good luck and be careful." Nick told him.

"Yeah, watch your tail." Henry added on.

Skye remained stoic but the rest of her body was tense, "I know you'll be safe."

Jack nodded, "Thanks for the kind words. It's showtime."

He turned around and cracked open the door before peeking inside, "Hmm, it's a little too dark for me to make it out."

Henry stood right behind Jack, "This already sounds like a trap."

"There should be a light switch somewhere around, I'll use my phone as a flashlight."

Jack entered inside the room, "Be ready for anything." he told them before shutting the door.

It was pitch black and with Jack's limited ability to see in the dark in the first place it was even harder for him to see the layout of the room without the assistance of the flash function on his phone.

"Is anyone there? It's me, Jack Savage. William, if you can hear me please come to my voice." he called out.

The lack of a response disappointed the buck hoping that anyone would be around to at least talk to but he continued to move the light around searching for anything that may provide illumination to the room.

Suddenly the buck bumped into something which frightened him, but the sound of metal making contact with the concrete floor assured him that it was only an object, pointing the light at it revealed it to be a metal chair.

" _Strange place for a chair to be, I wonder what it's for..."_

On the back of the chair there was a sticky note, he grabbed it and read the written message, " _Have a seat._ "

Jack sighed, "You playing games with me?"

Despite his irritation he proceeded to do as the note asked which shortly after the room suddenly flooded with light.

On the wall facing Jack there was a large mirror that nearly covered the wall itself, and saw himself staring back at him.

"What is this? Someone answer me now!" he yelled out.

The door to the side of him opened, "Calm down Dad, it's just a reflection. Anymore yelling and I would've thought you became a lunatic."

Jack gasped, "William?"

The cat appeared from behind, "Hi Dad."

The rabbit dashed towards him and tightly hugged his son, "Thank God you're safe, we should leave immediately and-"

William grabbed his father's wrists, "I can't leave."

"What? Don't be silly, we have to go now!"

He shook his head, "We can't. I was told to keep you here."

Jack looked up towards his son's eyes and noticed they were completely dilated despite the harsh lighting, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Never better." he simply answered.

The rabbit attempted to released himself from his son's grip but failed to even budge him, "Let go, I can't move!"

"I know, I can't let you leave."

The cat forced his father to walk back to the chair and sat him down, "You know, I'm thankful that I was able to spend these last moments with you."

Jack felt William's claws on his wrist, "W-What?"

"They told me that you had to die, but they gave me the chance to do it." he explained.

His father struggled against his son's grip, "You most certainly do not have to kill me, we've been through this before!"

The cat stared at the mirror image of the two, "After taking philosophy in school earlier I learned a few things about family bonds, the child is supposed to place utmost trust in their parents in order to survive right? Take a look at us, we're not supposed to be compatible in nature...the reason why we're together is because of civilization. But when there's nobody else to reinforce that...what are we exactly?"

"That is quite the question to ask, but the simple answer is that we're still family." his father answered back.

William tightened his grip, "But are we?"

Despite the confrontation Jack couldn't help but be amused, "The fact that I came all the way here to rescue you isn't proof enough?"

"We have to fight each other you know..."

"We don't need to." his father replied sharply.

"I'm sorry Dad, it's the only way one of us will survive." William said in a remorseful tone.

The cat then threw the chair along with Jack harshly onto the ground, "I'm already been injected with that stupid drug and it won't be long before I go savage."

Jack quickly recovered from the initial impact, "I knew they would, and that's why I'm going to make them pay." he asserted.

William felt an intense burning in his head, "I can't hold it back much longer!"

"Fight the urge to! I came here to bring you home and that's what I'm going to do. Even if it means...fighting you." Jack told his son before assuming a defensive posture.

The cat snarled, "Why do you have to make everything so difficult?"

"It's called being a father. Either way I will stay alive for you, whatever it takes."

William's eye twitched, "I-I...you can't!"

The rabbit remained composed as he watched his son gradually lose control to his feral side, "We've been through a lot together William, you're my son and my best mate."

Jack balled up his fists, "And I won't give that up!"

The last of William's civilized nature slipped away from him and the cat leaped for his father.

* * *

Skye felt fidgety, "It's been like five minutes already! Shouldn't Jack be out by now?"

Nick shrugged, "I have no clue what's going inside, should we check?"

"But Jack told us to stay here!" Henry told the two.

"Screw that, I'm not taking advice from someone who's dumb enough to go by himself towards danger!" Skye retorted opening the door.

The bright light momentarily stunned her but she overcame it quickly, "Jack!"

The vixen dashed for Jack who was struggling to keep William's face and claws away from him as he was pinned, "Lend a paw would you!"

William jumped off Jack and his fur bristled as he loudly growled at the newly arrivals.

Jack coughed as he got back up, "He's a bit of a pawful I have to admit."

"You okay?" Skye said assisting him.

He nodded, "I'll be alright."

Nick grabbed his tranquilizer gun from his holster and inserted a low-concentration dart, "This should enough just to calm him down."

William rushed for the other side of the room away from the fox making the officer give chase, "Damn it, he's getting away!"

"I'll need to distract him, I'll grab his attention so that you'll will be able to aim!" Jack yelled out running towards his son.

Nick crouched down to stabilize his aim, "Keep him busy Jack!"

Henry watched in amazement as the agent tackled the cat onto the ground, "Holy crap, never seen a rabbit take down a predator before..."

Jack struggled to keep the cat down as he snapped his jaws and kicked his hind legs attempting to break free of the rabbit's grip, "Get him now Nick!"

"I can't, he's still moving around too much!" Nick said walking slowly closer to his target.

William managed to throw off his father and scampered madly around the room desperately trying to escape seeing that he was outnumbered.

Henry ran towards one of the doors, "Nah-ah, you'll have to get past me first!"

The cat quickly turned around for the other exit which was promptly covered by Skye, "Nope!"

Jack huffed as William stop in his tracks, "Whenever any animal is cornered..."

His son looked directly at him and his tail froze indicating he was ready to attack, "It's gonna bite."

Nick attempted to take a shot but missed by inches, "Shit! Have to reload!"

Jack's own natural instincts kicked in at the sight of the rabid cat, "Make it quick Nick!"

"Snap out it William, it's just what they want! They want you to kill me, don't let them have the satisfaction!" The rabbit implored in a final attempt to appeal to him, but his words didn't seem to faze his son whatsoever.

The rabbit knew running away would only work against him but every single critical part of his brain screamed at him to flee, with the cat charging at him all sensibilities flew out the window.

"Wait Jack, stop fucking running! I can't aim!" Nick cried out as Jack bolted from his quickly approaching son.

"It's not going to work, Jack's in survival mode right now! You'll have to subdue William another way!" Skye yelled to the fox still protecting the exit.

Nick groaned, "Fucking perfect..."

Jack in his purely compulsive dash inadvertently smacked right into one of the walls and was temporarily in a daze which gave William enough time for him to catch up.

Right before William was able to make the killing jump for the rabbit's neck he was smacked alongside by Nick, the cat turned to hiss at the fox but Nick bared his own sharp teeth growling in a threatening manner. The cat recognized that Nick was quite a bit larger than him and crouched down to the ground still hissing at him.

"Nick what are you doing? You're making it worse!" Skye yelled out to him.

"The only way he'll recognize to stop fighting is if I show him who's boss." Nick explained his behavior staring William down.

The cat was in pure fear over the larger hostile fox and he attempted to bat away Nick with several swift swats to his head but failed to deter the officer.

Nick didn't retaliate but continued his threatening posture , "Skye! Grab my gun I'll pin him down!"

The vixen sprinted over to him as the fox forced William onto the ground causing the cat to furiously kick his hind legs onto Nick's stomach and land bites on his shoulder, "Got it, sorry about this honey!"

She landed a direct shot of the dart onto William's shoulder, "Hopefully it's not _too_ effective."

Nick noticed his captor stopped kicking his hind legs with a disorientated look on his face, "Kid's got some kick to him that's for sure, ouch."

"You okay there?" Skye asked checking for any wounds.

The fox held his stomach and burped unexpectedly, "Whew...now I'm good."

"He's a bit out of it but he won't be of any harm now." Skye said waving her paw in front of his face.

The buck sat still darting his eyes around for danger, "I-Is...he?

"Calm down Jack, he's doing fine just a little loopy from the tranquilizer." Nick told the buck.

Jack saw the cat waltzing around on all fours as though he was slightly drunk, "Oh! Good, then next we should concentrate on getting rid of the head honchos then."

Henry caught up to them, "You smacked your head real good there."

"Bit of pain but it's nothing to worry about. I'm just glad nothing serious happened to either of us." Jack said walking over to his son, "He's been darted?"

Nick shrugged, "I doubt he's going to try to rip out your throat now, feel free."

Jack reached out to the still feral cat, "William, do you understand me?"

The cat looked at him curiously and moved his head forward sniffing the rabbit's paw, "There you go, it's your Dad. Nothing to worry about now."

William began to purr and bunted his head against his paw which relieved Skye, "He still knows you, so he's still there thank goodness."

"Guess you could say he's a savage Savage." Nick joked.

Jack looked at Nick incredulously before giving his son a hug, "Whatever he is, I still love him."

His son responded by grooming his cheek, "And it seems likewise for me." Jack said chuckling from the sensation of his rough tongue.

"Hate to interrupt the lovefest, but we got some baddies to take care of." Nick reminded the rabbit.

Jack rubbed his son's shoulder, "I know, just give me a moment..."

Nick rolled his eyes and held up his paws, "Fine, have your precious father son moment, I'm going on ahead."

Henry joined with his fellow officer, "Wait for me!"

Skye stayed put, "I've never seen William act so affectionately before."

Jack nuzzled his face on William's, "It's been years since he's been this loving, I guess it's for good reason now that he's older..."

"I think it's cute...I mean beautiful." Skye quickly corrected herself.

The buck smiled, "I don't blame you for making that comment. Come on, let's get this little faff sorted out."

Nick found another room beyond the door where William originally came from, "Seems like we found our base of operations."

Henry looked around, "We hit a goldmine! The precinct's going to love this!" he said glancing at all the pictures and documents.

"It's strange how there's no one here, I suppose cowards aren't going to stick around to get arrested or shot. Or maybe they must've figured that siccing William on Jack would do the job and they wouldn't have to be here to oversee it." Nick said checking out a large billboard on the wall.

Henry tapped his chin, "But why would they leave so soon? Surely Jack being here would be enough reason to stay."

Skye arrived, "They got away huh?"

"Yup, and there's no sign of those other guys they held captive." Nick informed her.

"Fuck...so now what?"

Nick pointed at a picture of Judy in the corner, "I have an idea."

"Back to the stadium then?" Henry asked the fox.

Nick nodded, "I'll call her and let her know, but since security is tight I doubt they can do anything to her especially with all the people there."

Skye took a look at the plan besides Judy's picture, "Looks like they were planning to kill Jack and Judy at roughly the same time, to send a message."

"I wonder what kind of message they were planning, that prey in positions of power should watch out?" Nick speculated.

Skye frowned, "Seems very likely, Judy's well known by now and Jack's pretty high up there as well. Eliminating them both would've sent shock-waves for sure across the rabbit community."

"We shouldn't rule out the possibility that they'll do something even with a concert going on though." Henry said with concern.

Nick smirked, "We saved Jack's hide, next up is Judy's."

Henry stretched his arms, "Are we almost done here?"

The fox shrugged, "It's depends on how much you're willing to work to finish the job. We just need to arrest Ben and Vanessa, find out where the rest of the captives are holed up and bingo."

"Oh..."

Nick gave an encouraging thumbs up, "Okay let's try this again."

Jack accompanying William who followed him on all fours smiled at the trio, "Since my son is safe for the time being, I'm ready for what is hopefully the final part of our little journey."

"Chances are we're going to have to tell Judy what we've been up to. I'm guessing you can behave yourself?" Skye said feeling skeptical about Jack's ability to refrain from questionable decisions.

"I'll do my best, but if I start to stray you have my permission to correct me."

Skye sighed, "I can already tell things are going to get awkward."


	50. Chapter 49

_**Missed me? Probably not, but I'm back to writing again after taking a break. Getting closer to the end...**_

Judy watched the band perform on a TV screen and was impressed by how professional the three were at singing and presenting themselves despite their still young age, "Wow, the fans are going wild aren't they?"

"They definitely look different on stage compared to in person, they all look more mature in fact. Must be part of the stage persona." Fangmeyer commented.

"How long is the performance anyways?" Judy asked the tiger.

"The manager told me the entire showcase is until 8pm, so a couple more hours."

The doe stretched her arms out, "Things are going swimmingly, I can't wait to tell Nick how it was to be backstage."

"Maybe you should get some merchandise from the concert, should make a nice little gift." the tigress suggested.

Judy's face lit up, "That's not a bad idea, even if Nick doesn't follow the band I'm sure he'll appreciate it anyways."

"Is there anything in particular he may like?"

The rabbit clapped her paws together, "Maybe they sell souvenirs here, I'll get something when this is over."

"What do you think Nick is up to anyways?" Fangmeyer said sipping some water.

"Probably chatting with the other officers in the precinct, he's pretty social these days so it wouldn't surprise me."

Her cell phone began to vibrate, "Hmm? Who's calling me?"

She took a glance at the screen and saw that it was Nick calling her, "Why is he calling me now? I guess he just wants to talk."

"Hey, we're on security right now, it would look pretty unprofessional to do personal calls." the tigress reminded the other officer.

Judy nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I'm sure that it could wait until later."

She rejected the call and placed her cell phone back into her pocket, "Let's just enjoy the show, if they need us for anything they can call us on the police radio."

"Does your fox already miss you?" Fangmeyer teased.

"First of all, Nick has a boyfriend already so he's not my fox, besides it's been only an hour anyways. He's probably calling because he wants to make some idle chat to distract himself from work. Last time we were separated we ended talking on the phone for like ten minutes before Bogo caught him." Judy recalled.

The tigress flinched, "Oof, probably got an earful from the chief huh?"

"He had some ringing in his ears for an hour after getting a 'talk'. Nick ended up having to take a break to let his ears heal themselves."

"But he still does it?"

The doe shrugged, "He's pretty stubborn, if he wants to do something it'll take more than yelling from his boss to stop."

Fangmeyer grinned, "Must be both a blessing and a curse."

"Feels like it sometimes..." Judy lamented.

"Hey!"

The two turned to a young red panda, "Is something wrong?" Judy asked the child.

"There's these two weird looking guys in hoodies carrying something, it looked like a gun." she told the two officers.

"Where did you see these guys?" Fangmeyer asked next.

The red panda pointed down the hallway, "Near the bathrooms."

Judy gave her usual friendly calm smile, "We will look into it, thank you for telling us."

"Yeah, anything for Officer Hopps!" the red panda replied enthusiastically.

Fangmeyer held back a laugh, "Looks like you got your own fans here Hopps, you might need to bring a pen to sign autographs with at this rate."

Judy playfully punched the tigress' arm, "You're almost as bad as Nick! I'm not going to sign autographs, I believe we should be treated by the public equally well, not based on how popular we are."

"I'm going back to the concert." The red panda told the two.

"Do you want us to go with you to make sure you're safe?" Judy offered.

The girl shook her head, "Nah, I can take care of myself, but thanks anyways!" she told them before taking off.

"Quite the independent little lady isn't she? She reminds me of a certain bunny..."

Judy rubbed her chin, "Hmm...that does sound familiar."

The doe sarcastically shrugged, "Guess I can't think of that certain bunny right now."

Fangmeyer smacked the doe's back, "Oh cut the crap, you know who I'm talking about."

"Is the bunny...me?" Judy asked pointing at her own chest pretending to be clueless.

"What other bunny is in the police force right now?"

Her comment struck Judy as she realized that the truth was she indeed was the only one, "No one..."

Fangmeyer realized her error in saying her previous sentence, "I didn't mean anything bad by it, I was just saying..."

"It's fine, I know what you meant Fangmeyer." Judy reassured her, "Anyways, let's go check out about the suspicious people that girl told us earlier."

* * *

" _T_ _his is Judy Hopps! Sorry I wasn't able to get this call, please leave a message after the beep and I'll get back to you pronto!"_

"Judy! Please pick up right now, Ben and Vanessa are heading to the stadium right now to do who knows what! Please pick up!" Nick shouted to his phone before ending his message.

The fox covered his face and punched the dashboard in front of him, "Fuck! I can't believe that this is happening!"

Ever since they left for the stadium, Nick's confidence quickly deteriorated as the realization of a single rabbit against two dangerous tigers began to make itself clear.

Jack who was currently driving his car sighed, "Calm down Nick, I know that the situation is urgent but that doesn't give you the excuse to act so destructively."

"I'm the reason why she's in this mess, she doesn't even know that two dangerous criminals are out for her hide!" The fox said rubbing his knuckles.

"I'm just as worried about her safety as you are Nick, but again we can't afford for our emotions to get the better of us. I'm just going to admit right now that if I didn't learn that lesson soon enough both my son and I would be dead by now." Jack explained to the red fox.

The red fox slumped in the car seat, "Dead huh? Fuck it, you're right. The same would apply to her and I."

Skye sat in the back with Henry and William who was still in a feral yet sedated state, "Why exactly would you and William be dead if you didn't control your feelings?"

"It's a long story, but it's something that I'll have to share later. For now, let's just make sure that Judy is safe and sound before we get into anything else."

"Will Officer Hopps be okay?" Henry asked.

Nick looked straight ahead with determination, "She will be, I'll make sure of it."

Jack began to feel worried about Nick's newfound resolution, "Let's try not to do anything rash or heroic Nick, it's still two tigers we're talking about. Last time I checked they were much bigger than any of us."

"Don't care, protecting Judy is my number one priority, even higher than arresting those two." Nick grumbled.

The fox's response struck him, "I suppose it's out of loyalty ain't it?"

"And what do you know about loyalty Jack?" Nick shot back.

Jack glanced at the rearview mirror towards his son, "I'm well familiar with the concept."

"So wait, if you place saving Officer Hopps above arresting the tigers, does that mean you're not going to bother trying to detain them?" Henry asked.

"If it's possible then of course I'm going to try to get them in cuffs and send them to the big house, but if they try to harm Carrots in any way they are definitely going to face the consequences."

Nick's ominous reply didn't help to relieve Henry's concern that the fox was going to resort to more drastic measures, "Come on Nick, even if she was in danger I really doubt that she would want you to do anything that could hurt you."

Skye wrapped her arm around William's shoulder, "Same for you Jack, I know you want to help out but think before you act alright?"

A cheeky smile appeared on Jack's face, "You know me Skye, if push comes to shove I'm not going to hold back."

Skye felt William bunting his head against hers, "For fox's sake I'm not going to bail you out of your own mess..."

"What about William? Bringing a savage cat into a crowded area isn't going to end well." Henry spoke up.

Jack could see the stadium appear from the horizon, "Hmm...that is a problem to think about."

"I have to ask, why didn't we take the freeway to the stadium?" Skye asked the buck.

He shrugged, "I assumed that since there was an event going on at the stadium, it would be wise to take the streets instead since gridlock is certain to happen plus...my phone said so."

Skye couldn't help but be a little impressed by the buck's insight for these details, "Smart, nice to see you still have a knack for technology."

"I swear it looks even colder near Downtown than back at the Warehouse." Henry observed the graying clouds.

"May even snow at some point." Jack added.

Nick felt more confident about the changing conditions, "Good thing I've got my winter coat otherwise I might become a frozen Pawsicle." he quipped.

"Snow is nothing to me, my species was made for this sort of stuff." Skye boasted.

Jack wasn't as sure, "I prefer to be indoors when it starts to get a little chilly outdoors, a nice cup of tea with the heater cranked up."

The red fox found himself agreeing with the agent, "Yeah that does sound real nice about now...wait a minute, what am I talking about? We're supposed to be hauling ass!"

To Jack the fox's restlessness was starting to irritate him, "We're almost there Nick, I would like for you to keep calm while I take us there."

"Well unlike you with your kid, I'm not sure yet if she's safe or not alright? It stresses me out with the uncertainty." Nick admitted.

"She will be fine Nick, she's smart enough to avoid danger on her own." Jack assured him.

The buck pulled over to the curb of the street by the stadium, "There's no telling whether or not if Vanessa and Ben had gotten here first. We have to hurry."

Nick quickly unbuckled his seat belt and swung open the car door, "You don't have to tell me twice!"

"Nick wait! Great..." Skye sighed watching the red fox run off for the building.

Henry exited the car as well, "He's got the right idea, we need to find Officer Hopps before they do."

Jack sat there wondering how he was going to approach Judy if they bumped into each other, "Skye. Can you watch over William for me?"

Skye was flat out confused over his request, "What? He's _your_ son, you look after him!"

"I know that Skye but I need...I need to say sorry." Jack said looking down.

The arctic vixen frowned, "Sorry to who?"

"Someone who has been waiting for one for a long time." Jack replied shutting off the engine.

* * *

"I'm guessing this is where the girl told us they were at." Judy said arriving with Fangmeyer at the location.

The tigress scrunched up her nose, "Just by going with the description and location, guessing it's some kind of drug deal?"

"Maybe, anyways let's take a look." she said pointing to the entrance to the men's bathroom.

The two entered inside, "I don't hear anybody in here, maybe she was referring to the women's bathroom?"

Judy nodded, "Yeah, that or our suspects had already left the place. I hope they didn't go far."

"Wait a minute...I hear someone." Fangmeyer told the doe hearing voices right outside.

Judy tailed close behind the tigress, "Maybe those are the guys we are looking for?"

They exited the bathroom to find the two hoodied people that the child described earlier, "Alright guys, we received a complaint that you two are doing something suspicious. Now if you two could please turn around and put down your hoodies we can make this go faster."

"Pleasure to meet you Officer Hopps." a female voice spoke out.

The two turned around which made Judy freeze in her spot, "Oh...sweet cheese and crackers."

"Do you know these guys?" the tigress said feeling the hostility from the two towards the doe.

Judy tensed up getting herself ready for anything to happen, "Sort of, let's just say they were part of a case Nick and I were a part of before."

"Fancy meeting you here, you're coming with us." Ben stated to the officer.

Fangmeyer growled, "No the fuck you ain't."

Vanessa held up her gun to Fangmeyer's face, "If you want to keep her brains intact I highly recommend you come with us Officer Hopps."

The doe begrudgingly accepted, "Fine, I'll go with you guys."

"Judy-"

She held the tigress' paw, "It's me they want Fangmeyer, not you. Don't risk your own life for mine's."

Vanessa gave a satisfied expression, "Good bunny, drop your gun and give me your radio."

Judy gave her the radio and laid the gun on the floor as instructed, "What are you going to do now?"

A dark grin crept on her face, "Oh, you'll love it. Since you've become the face of the ZPD lately, I decided that the best way to convey our message will be to parade you in front of everyone at the concert to show how 'heroic' you really are."

Ben chuckled, "I've been waiting for a long fucking time for this. Now walk bunny."

Judy was pushed along by Ben, quickly turning her head she looked at Fangmeyer and mouthed, " _Go."_


	51. Chapter 50

_**Going to make this an extended chapter to help move it along. Thanks for reading :)**_

Skye watched as Jack rushed down the walkway towards the front entrance of the stadium, "What is he trying to accomplish? I swear sometimes he's thickheaded."

William yawned and nuzzled himself on her arm which helped to calm Skye somewhat, "Well, I guess you're safest here. We'll get you out of this soon enough and then you can go home and hopefully recover."

The cat began to vocalize various meows and trilling as though he was trying to communicate to her, "Come on William, I know you're still in there. Talk to me."

He slowly blinked at her, "Mmm...meow?"

Skye gave an encouraging smile, "Hmm? What are you trying to say?"

He twisted around playfully, "Meow...meow!"

Her ear twitched hearing something that sounded familiar, "Did I hear something?"

"Meow...ma..."

"Wait a minute, say it again." Skye requested to him.

"Ma...ma."

The arctic vixen met his gaze at him in shock, "Mama?"

William stretched his body and continued to purr, "Mama..."

Suddenly Skye felt somewhat uncomfortable with William calling him his mother, "No William, I'm not your mom."

The cat stared at her for a moment, "Meow?"

Skye saw his eyes gradually returning back to his normal appearance, "William?"

He struggled to control his vocal cords to utter the word, "S-Skye..."

She returned back to her smile, "Yes William, it's me."

Confusion grew on his face, "Huh? Skye?"

"Welcome back." she greeted.

He got up from Skye's lap, "What happened?"

"You became savage because of those drugs they injected you with, but somehow I feel that the tranquilizer may have helped your body get rid of it."

He took a look around in his environment, "What are we doing in my dad's car? Wait...what are _you_ doing here?"

"Keeping an eye on you, your father told me to do so."

The cat held his head feeling the remnants of a nasty headache, "Oh God, I remember getting kidnapped by these two tigers. They took me into this dark room and pricked my arm after that..."

He could vividly remember the look on his father's face when he was being taken away, the brief moment of panic on Jack's face when they met in the warehouse before it all became blurry, "Where did he go? Tell me Skye, I can't let him run off again!"

Skye empathized with him but knew also that it wasn't safe for him to go running around for Jack, "I'm not letting you go anywhere this time, you're going to stay here until your father comes back."

"I don't want to leave him by himself against those two! He's going to need my help!"

"You can't do shit and you know it. You're smarter than this William, stop being a brat and stay inside this damn car!" she growled.

He sneered, "You're not my mother, I'm old enough to make my own decisions."

The cat reached for the door handle behind him only for Skye to grab his arm, "Oh no you don't, you'll only make things worse for everyone!"

He attempted to tug his arm away from the vixen, "Let me go, I swear Skye I'll-"

"Do what? You going to hurt me? Don't forget I'm more than capable of defending myself especially against you." she emphasized by applying pressure on his arm.

William gritted his teeth, "I'll take my chances, you can't separate me from my Dad, not after all the things that happened to us."

"Just listen to me, Jack told me specifically that if anything were to happen to him that he wanted me to take care of you."

He quit struggling, "Huh?"

Skye took a deep breath, "Listen...I know why you're panicking. I realize that the thought of losing any more family is traumatizing, but Jack is risking his own life to make sure yours is safe. If it wasn't obvious before, then it should be by now."

"But I don't want him to die."

She smiled assuredly, "He won't, he'll be back pretty soon alright? I'm sure he'll be super happy to see you back to normal."

William wasn't totally convinced by her consoling, "Are you sure?"

"He's a tough dude, he'll be fine."

She opened her arms offering a hug in which William would accept, "Thanks for being here Skye."

She patted his back, "No problem."

* * *

Ben walked close behind Judy giddy by the prospect of achieving their plan, "I must be dreaming, Judy fucking Hopps herself. I should pinch myself...ow, nevermind I'm awake."

"Calm down honey, we're almost there." Vanessa told her mate as they approached the main stage.

With the presence of the police officer with them, they were able to slip through layers of security and staff without arousing much suspicion despite the two's sinister intentions.

Judy forced herself to remain calm as she knew the two could end her life at any moment, "Are you going to let me go after this?"

Vanessa chuckled, "You wish, we're going to take you to a nice secluded spot in the forest and slowly torture you until you're begging for a quick death."

Ben laid a paw on the doe's head, "That kind of stuff builds up an appetite, maybe we'll have a nice juicy rabbit for dinner. It'll help clean up any evidence left behind."

The doe was waiting for Nick to show up any second now and save the day but the farther they walked the less likely it seemed he would make any sort of timely rescue, "You won't get away with this, killing an officer of the law would have the entire department after you."

The tigress glanced back at her, "Will it now? Awesome, we can scope more prey officers out into the open. One by one, we'll pop them like the vermin they are."

The music grew louder signalling that the entrance to the main stage was approaching, of course there were a security guard that was in the way, "This is easy, just one guy between us and glory. Alright Officer Hopps, be a good little rabbit and tell the nice gentlemammal that we need 'special' access." Vanessa instructed her.

Judy didn't want any more lives to be risked than necessary even if it meant possibly loosing her own, "Fine."

"Excuse me, I'm sorry but we need to get up on stage." the doe told the lion.

He shook his head, "Sorry ma'am, but I'm not allowed to let anyone in here until the concert's over."

Vanessa rubbed the doe's shoulder, "But we really need to go up there, perhaps...I can change your mind?" she suggested with a wink.

The lion groaned, "I'm not accepting any favors either."

Ben drew out his gun, "We _really_ have to hurry, Officer Hopps is authorizing our access to the stage."

"H-Hey, take it easy I'm just here to make a living alright? Please don't shoot!" the security officer said shrinking back.

Vanessa asked him, "So...may we enter?"

The lion looked towards the doe who nodded her head, "Just do it, please."

"F-Fine..."

He let them through, "Don't do anything stupid!"

"Trust me, we won't!" Vanessa yelled back.

Judy could see the band members singing away on stage and her anxiety shot through the roof, "Guys, you're making a huge mistake. You'll give yourself away on the cameras and everyone will see who you are!"

"Well we're not going to be the special guests on stage...you are." Ben said handing her a piece of paper.

The doe wasn't sure what they wanted now, "What's this?"

"Look, it's easy...go up on stage, read out what's on the paper and you'll be done." Vanessa explained to her.

Judy glanced at the paper, "I-I can't read this out loud! It's very obviously an anti-prey speech!"

Vanessa snickered, "Uh hello...remember who we are? Besides since you'll meet your end soon enough I highly doubt that this is going to be a big deal for you anyways."

The officer looked forward towards the stage, " _Nick, if there's ever a time to show up, it's now."_

"Come on, we ain't got all day!" Ben growled.

Judy's grip on the paper threatened to tear it apart, "Okay."

* * *

" _Now where could Judy be? She shouldn't be too difficult to spot, perhaps if I asked an officer."_

Jack wasn't familiar with the interior layout of the stadium having been here only once before to see a soccer game with his son, right at the turnstiles one ZPD officer was standing at attention, "Ah um...afternoon officer, have you happened to see Officer Hopps at all?"

The wolf shook his head, "Nah, she's probably posted somewhere else in the stadium. Say, aren't you Agent Jack Savage?"

The buck gave a coy smile, "You're speaking to him."

"I figured so, the stripes gave it away. I gotta say, I've heard stories about you and I think you are like the most badass bunny ever!" the wolf said in a enthusiastic manner.

It had been months since anyone had gushed over him, it brought him back to his days when he was considered the 'superspy' at one point in his career, "Oh heh, trust me most of those 'stories' are either false or greatly exaggerated."

"Don't be so humble Agent Savage, you can kick serious butt when you need to."

Jack sighed, "If you say so. Hate to be a bother but would you mind if I slipped through, important manners pertaining to the ZBI and all."

The wolf's tail wagged, "Yeah, of course! Don't let the boss know though, he'll be pretty mad if he knew about this."

"My lips are sealed. Greatly appreciate it mate." Jack thanked the officer.

"No problem and good luck with Officer Hopps!"

The buck's ears perked up, "Um...excuse me?"

"Hey I'm not saying anything, it's just since you asked for her I assumed that...you know." the wolf suggested raising his eyebrows.

Jack at this point decided it would be best not to raise a ruckus and merely smiled, "I'll say hi for you."

" _They still believe that Judy and I are an item huh?"_

He wasn't naive in believing that in the months after his last 'conversation' with Judy that it would erase any sort of gossip of the two, particularly since neither of them disclosed the incident that occurred between them, Nick, and Skye. But despite that, Jack wasn't going to allow any harm to come towards Judy if he had any say in it. At the same time deep down he secretly hoped that Nick would make it to her first so that any misunderstandings would be corrected.

" _Hmm, this officer seems troubled. Perhaps she may know something."_

Jack ran for the tigress, "Excuse me, have you happened to see Officer Hopps?"

She meekly nodded, "I have."

The buck sighed in relief, "That's good to hear, do you know where she is currently?"

"She's been taken."

A surge of fear enveloped him, "No..."

Fangmeyer seemed on the verge of breaking down in anger, "They took her to the stage."

Jack controlled himself from alarm, "Please show me."

* * *

" _Fuck, fuck, fuck...Carrots where are you?"_

Nick ran up and down the corridors of the stadium, hoping for any glimpse that the doe is safe and sound but the longer he ran the more desperate he became, any rabbit that he happened to run by caught his full attention. Only to be dashed by the fearful look in their faces seeing a fox with a determined look on his face.

" _Calm down Nick, she's just walking around making sure that there is no trouble. She's safe...she's safe."_ he repeated the mantra in his head.

The red fox had to slow down as he was running short on breath, "Whew, okay I need to stop for a second..."

He soon found himself back one of the hallways leading to the bleachers where he heard the crowds cheering away for the band, " _I hope she's not in there, it'll take ages to find her."_

Suddenly the music stopped and on the giant screen he spotted a familiar sight walking towards center stage, "Wait...Carrots?"

* * *

Judy slowly walked on the stage, and the crowd noticed her appearance. As she was well known and well regarded by the city the audience assumed that she was some kind of feature and starting cheering her name, " _Judy Hopps, Judy Hopps!"_ they chanted.

Their chanting caught the band members by surprise, " _What's going on, why are they saying her name?"_ Quentin asked the others.

They shut off their mics to avoid any eavesdropping, " _I have no idea."_

Ray spotted the nervous looking doe, " _It's her, she's on stage for some reason."_

"Officer Hopps? Is there something wrong?" Pierce asked.

Judy gave them an apologetic face, "I'm so sorry guys, but...I have a message." she said looking back towards the expecting tigers.

"Um...what? I'm sorry but could it wait?" the deer said scratching his head.

She shook her head, "It can't, please you must understand it's something I have to share. For our sake."

Pierce was apprehensive about letting the officer interrupt their concert but relented, "Okay? Please make it quick."

He gave her the mic, in which Judy reluctantly accepted it and took a deep breath, "It won't take too long."

It occurred to her that all of the members were considered prey in Zootopia so it made it that much more painful for her to deliver the speech in what was supposed to be their biggest gig in their young careers.

Judy cleared her throat and switched on the mic, "Good Evening citizens of Zootopia and to you visitors from other countries. Today I have something to tell you."

She read the next few lines and began to shake from the impending humiliation and fear, "For several years now the ZPD has been promoting an initiative that allowed prey to enter it's ranks with preferential treatment, and it is how I was selected to join the force..."

After taking a moment to collect her bearings she continued the speech, "But I am here today to tell you that it was a mistake, that this initiative is...is..."

Her paws began to shake violently and her breathing quickened as the words written on the paper refused to leave her mouth, "T-That this initiative is..."

She gave the band a remorseful stare, "Wrong."

There was a moment of silence among the crowd before scattered talking erupted among them, "You may wonder what I am talking about...I'm talking the injustice that predators had faced for so long." she continued against her will.

"Predators had been a minority in this city for many years and continue to shrink proportionally and with that we prey are now the biggest force in every arena of society..."

Quentin ran to her, "Please stop, Judy Hopps."

Even with his limited knowledge of English the other rabbit recognized that the speech was directed against prey, "D-Don't read it."

It was obvious that the speech was upsetting him, "I can't Quentin, if I don't then others might get hurt."

Pierce grabbed the piece of paper from behind her, "Look, where Quentin's from...rabbits aren't exactly um, popular."

Judy decided at this point there wasn't much she could do to keep the hostile tigers happy anymore, so she instead opted to stay on stage at least where she would be safe for the meanwhile, "What do you mean?"

"Quentin joined our band at the last second as a way to escape our country's prejudice, and now that he's famous...he can't return home." Pierce admitted.

The thought of not being able to come home was almost completely foreign to the police officer who had many family members and friends that were always waiting for her return back at Bunnyburrows, "But why?"

Pierce shook his head, "His own family told him to flee."

The deer wrapped his arm around Quentin's shoulder and held him close, "For better or for worse, Ray and I are now his only family."

If it weren't for the fact that Judy was in a captive situation right now she would've asked for more information but time was short, "I...I can't imagine anything like that happening to me. I'm so sorry Quentin."

"It's okay, I have Pierce and Ray." he replied with a hopeful smile.

Judy realized that the only reason why Quentin was able to even leave his home was his newfound success as a musician, the doe knew that if she delivered the entire speech then the young buck's career and his bandmates as well would be put at risk. She knew what she had to do.

Switching the mic back on she looked back to the crowd, "I have something else to say."

The crowd almost immediately went back to silence reflecting general respect for the officer, "What I said earlier was false. A lie that was forced upon me by forces that wish to destroy the peace and harmony we had fought for all these years and even now. I did not intend to interrupt these young gentlemammals' performance and I do apologize for it."

Judy took a pause to build upon her thoughts before speaking again, "You may have heard this many times before but the message is the truth; prey and predator can and should coexist. Not just for your sake, but for your family, friends, and the rest of the city. We all benefit from this, no matter what your personal beliefs are. Without it, we have nothing. Thank you, and enjoy the rest of your concert." she said giving a short bow before returning the mic to Pierce.

The deer watched as she walked off the stage again, "Officer Hopps?"

Despite what she was about to face Judy didn't want to cause any further disruption, "It's fine, please keep going on with your concert. I'll be waiting in the back for when you guys are done."

Pierce had a moment of doubt before deciding to disregard it, "Alright, we'll talk more later then."

Judy merely smiled, "Have fun."

* * *

Nick could see in the audience's faces ranging from touched to surprised and everywhere in between, " _Well, this is quite the scene you just made fluff. Don't know why you decided to do this in the first place but it's better than that press conference from before...backstage is probably where I should go."_

The fox was sure at that point that Judy was safe since she was with other officers and seemingly in a secure location but he still wanted to reunite with her just for some reassurance.

* * *

"Agent Savage..."

Jack inspected his gun, "Jack's fine."

"I know you're an agent of the ZBI and all but, are you sure you can handle this?" Fangmeyer warily asked.

"When I first became part of the ZBI, one of things I was taught was that we must uphold our duties to the best of our abilities. And...I don't want her to be killed." he admitted.

The tigress remembered seeing Jack when he was prim and proper in contrast to his more casual current look, "I've heard about you and her before when you guys first met. Are they true?"

"Some of it was speculation but yes, I will admit at the time feelings did develop between us."

His reply piqued her interest, "So...what are you going to say to her?"

"A heartfelt apology, and hopefully we split on peaceful terms." Jack told the tigress.

"Apology? For what?"

Jack cocked his gun, "For everything I put her through."

* * *

Judy maintained an upright, proud posture as she walked back towards the tigers, "Sorry guys, but I'm not going to be your mouthpiece to destroy our city's peace. Do what you want to me but you'll understand that no one is willing to do anything you guys say."

Vanessa crossed her arms, "I'm disappointed to hear that Officer Hopps... _very_ disappointed."

Ben smiled, "Oh well, we'll find another way to spread our message. But first, we'll need to get rid of you."

Judy wasn't going to retreat with the band returning back to their concert, "I won't let you."

"Dumb bunny." Vanessa muttered baring her sharp teeth.

"That's quite enough."

Judy peeked behind the tigers and lost her breath for a half-second, "Jack?"

The buck's strict frown remained, "Long time no see Judy."

He aimed his gun at them, "Now, keep your paws up and allow her to come with me and nobody gets hurt."

Ben realized too late he had his gun holstered in his pants, "Probably shouldn't have put my gun away..."

Vanessa thought on it then raised her paws, "Fine, you can have your girlfriend back."

"I need the radio too." Judy also demanded.

Jack nodded at Judy as she walked past quickly snatching the radio from Ben never taking her eyes off them in case they tried something, but Jack was ready to fire any moment. Though content with her standing by his side he remained cautious.

"Did they hurt you?" he asked the doe.

At the moment Judy was too occupied with figuring out the situation to focus on Jack, "No, but I have a feeling they'll try to do something if we let our guard down."

"So? Are you going to let us go?" Ben asked the two rabbits.

"Of course not, but if you do anything out of line I will shoot." Jack warned them.

Judy grabbed her radio, "Attention, we have two suspects on hold at the east stage entrance, need assistance to detain them, over."

" _Copy that, sending units your way."_

"Where's Nick?"

Jack shrugged, "No idea, I'm assuming he's looking for you as we speak. Once he gets here we'll arrest the two and then I'll take my leave."

"Alright, it's good to see you safe and your son as well."

The buck agreed with her sentiment, "The same for you, I was worried that I was too late."

She couldn't withhold a small smile that crept on her face, "You were right on time."

Several more officers rushed into the area, "ZPD! Stay where you are!"

Jack maintained his aim until the other officers were able to cuff them successfully, "And so are they."

They watched as Ben and Vanessa were detained by the other officers, one of them Fangmeyer who seemed more than happy to hold them under arrest.

"You poor schmucks think it's over, but I'll tell you right now...it sure ain't." Vanessa told the two as they were escorted away.

As soon as the buck saw that the threat was neutralized the tension in his body disappeared and was replaced by fatigue and relief, "This was easier than I was expecting."

"Yeah, it was easy..."

Jack noticed her suspicious expression, "Is there something wrong?"

"It's nothing, let's go meet up with Nick." Judy told him.

He nodded, "Time to wrap it up."

"Officer Wilde this is Officer Hopps speaking, rendezvous at the front entrance of the stadium immediately."

" _Glad to hear you are safe, I'll meet you there ASAP."_

As they walked down the hallway Jack decided there was no other time than now to converse with her, "Sorry for asking but...are you still mad?"

Judy looked at him, "Hmm?"

He cleared his throat, "Uh...you know, about earlier."

"Oh! Well...I guess not anymore. To be honest I didn't expect to see you again so I'm still kind of surprised." she admitted.

"I must apologize."

The buck stopped and hung his head down, "For what I did to you, it was foolish for me to lead you on like that. I should've realized right from the beginning that what was I doing at the time was idiotic. But I didn't listen to myself or to anyone else. I was blinded by infatuation. But it interfered with both our careers and led to fighting between us, and Nick as well. Something that didn't need to happen."

Judy wasn't sure how to react to his apology, "Um..."

"I betrayed both your's and Nick's trust. I feel that even with both of you acting cordial with me I suspect that both of you still do not wish to trust me which I feel is justified. But at least let me say that not at any point I wished harm on either of you two, and I promise not to make any more rash decisions again."

She could see that his remorse was genuine, "I accept your apology Jack."

"I'm glad we were able to solve this peacefully." Jack gratefully said as they shook paws.

"Water under the bridge, plus I have to say sorry too for egging you on." she said a little embarrassed.

Jack chuckled, "It's okay, don't get hung up over it. I do have to say that I still think you're a sweetheart, and anyone would be lucky to have you as a friend."

"We were pretty good partners I have to say." she commented.

He thought back on it, "Eh...so-so."

They shared a brief laugh, "You know, I'm grateful for helping me back there. I wasn't sure if I was even going to make it." Judy thanked him.

"They wanted us both Judy, but I couldn't give them the satisfaction. It was the same with Hunter, I just didn't want injustice and hatred to win."

Judy couldn't help but notice his new appearance, "You grew out your fur huh?"

He grabbed some and pulled it down, "Just the top part, what do you think?"

She tapped her chin, "Makes you look younger, I don't know if it fits you though."

"It definitely gets a mixed reaction, but I happened to fancy it."

"What did Nick say?"

Jack paused for a moment, "Er...he said I looked more attractive."

"Really? Huh."

He noticed her shivering, "You cold?"

She waved it off, "A bit, we are sort of outside right now since we're outside the concert grounds, but nothing I can't handle."

He smirked, "Alright then."

* * *

Nick spotted the two rabbits casually chatting with each other, "Well well, I'm guessing you two kissed and made up huh?"

Judy saw that his face denoted a relaxed demeanor rather than a hostile one as last time she and Jack were talking together, "Not the first part, but yeah, long story short he basically said sorry."

"I hope that this doesn't cause any trouble for you Nick." Jack said vigilant of the fox's reaction.

"Hey, seeing her safe and sound is more than good enough for me." Nick told the buck.

"Am I correct in guessing that this means you forgive me?" the buck appealed to the officer.

Nick looked at Judy, "Well Carrots, what's your take on this?"

The doe imitated the fox's smirk, "I think that he's earned our mercy."

"If she's good with it, then so am I." Nick confirmed to Jack.

The buck held his paws together in gratefulness, "Thank you, that's the most I wanted to hear from both of you."

Jack glanced at his watch, "I should get going, my son is waiting for me."

"For sure, we should catch up later, maybe grab a couple of beers." Nick offered.

"It does sound tempting, but for now I'm going to spend my time with William until he heads off for college."

Judy cheerfully smiled, "Wow! Congrats!"

"I'm quite proud of him, but also a little sad to see him go."

Nick patted his shoulder, "Hey, you gotta let the kid go at some point right? He'll be fine on his own, he's a smart one."

Jack's ears fell down, "I know that, but it still feels like I'm going to be missing something in my life."

"You'll find something to fill it." Judy showed compassion for his sorrow.

His smile returned albeit a small one, "Thanks Judy, I'll make it an effort to find it."

"You know, there's one thing that still bothers me." Nick told the two.

Jack's ears perked back up, "What's on your mind?"

"We still haven't found that rogue officer who's been working with Vanessa."

The buck scratched his head, "A rogue officer?"

"Vanessa told Nick earlier that someone in the ZPD was basically looking to recruit more officers into the Pathfinders. Though since she's going to the precinct now I don't know if that means this mystery officer might try something." Judy explained.

Jack frowned, "Have any idea who it may be?"

Nick and Judy pondered it, "I mean the only ones who knew about this operation was you, Skye, me and...wait."

The two rabbits were startled by Nick suddenly dashing off, "Wait where are you going? Nick!" Judy yelled as they chased after him.


	52. Chapter 51

_**Some violence and a brief mention of child abuse, thank you for reading.**_

"Got a plan Nick?" Jack asked the fox as he followed him closely behind.

"Come in, wreck Henry's shit, cuff him and get out." Nick briefly explained bracing his body for any conflict.

Judy wasn't sure about Nick's insistence, "Before we do anything that could ruin an innocent person's life, do you have any rationale for your 'plan'?"

Nick snorted, "What's more to tell you about? He's the only officer besides me that knew anything about stopping the Pathfinders, and now he's nowhere to be found and he's not even responding to his radio."

"Seems a little harsh to place him as the suspect officer considering how much he's done for us in the first place." Jack rebutted.

"Did Henry tell you anything about what he was going to do?" Nick asked the buck.

The agent was so consumed by assuring Judy's safety that any other concerns were until now put on the back-burner, "Now that I think of it, no...not really. I just assumed that he was going to look for Judy and the tigers. Perhaps in hindsight it would've been better to ask him about his actual motives."

The doe groaned, "Even _i_ _f_ he turned out to be the guy we're looking for what makes you think that he's going to admit to that in the first place?"

"I'll force it out of him." Nick replied in an ominous tone.

"Where are you even going Nick? Looking for Henry is going to turn out to be a goose chase since we don't have a location on him." Jack responded.

The fox tapped his nose, "I'll follow the scent."

Jack squinted at him, "You're...kidding me right?"

"He's got quite a distinctive smell to him, a mix of police uniform, sweat, and classic Redstone cologne." Nick described to him.

Judy's nose twitched at the suggestion of it, "You never used your _nose_ to find suspects before."

Nick snorted, "First time for anything right? Besides, a stadium like this has the concrete smell that makes it easy to distinguish any individual's smell. Jack, do you have anything idea where he might have gone to?"

The buck shrugged, "Not a clue, I believe that he left my car at some point and walked straight inside."

"Well, we're at the front entrance at least, if he came here recently then I should be able to sniff something out."

The two rabbits watched as the fox began to walk around the area intensely the air around him, "I think Nick's lost it."

Judy shook her head, " _I_ think he's onto something..."

Suddenly Nick stopped and turned his head immediately to his left, "Got him!"

"Oh...well guess _I'm_ the one loosing it right now." Jack muttered.

A determined smile appeared on Judy's face, "Let's follow him."

* * *

"Did Jack ever tell you about the time he proposed to me?" Skye asked William.

The cat thought back on it, "Well he told _something_ happened between you guys but I assumed it was mostly...well, it's kind of awkward to say it."

Skye chuckled, "I understand what you're referring at, well anyways he popped the question after dinner at a diplomat's meeting."

William was always curious about how Jack and Skye's relationship even developed in the first place, let alone almost leading to marriage and then a nasty split.

"Really? Did you say yes?"

"I did, and I was so happy to hear him wanting to elope with me. For a while it seemed like a sure thing that we would live our lives together, Jack even suggested our wedding take place at the church he went to." she reminisced.

"But...you guys never got married."

Skye nodded with her smile disappearing, "In the end it didn't work out. Actually, I feel that it was my fault that we ended our relationship."

William sat straight up in surprise, "What did you do?"

"Jack and I had this big argument over how to approach our missions. In the end I got so angry at him that I left to finish our assignment on my own terms."

"Did he say anything?"

Skye took a deep breath, "The last time we met under the ZBI he asked me why I walked out on him. I told him I had to do what I had to do and there I told him the wedding was off. I remember he immediately broke down, and stupid me instead of trying to console him left on his own. Maybe we were never meant to be in the first place. "

"I...I remember he came home one day and he looked so sad and angry at the same time. I tried asking him what was wrong but he..."

The cat struggled to overcome the painful stigma associated with that night, "He hit me, several times. He said it was my fault that he wasn't happy."

The vixen gasped, "He did what?"

William hid his face away from her, "I had bruises on my face, and he didn't talk at all to me the entire next day, he just would glare at me like he hated me and then go back to drinking, I almost ran away but I didn't want to become an orphan again. For a while, I was so scared of him because I didn't know if he would hit me."

The cat heard Skye begin to growl and bare her teeth, "That motherfucker-"

He held her shoulders to try to calm her down, "There's more, I remember that night he came up to my room, I hid under the blankets thinking he was going to wallop me again. But all he did was sit down on my bed and for like...ten minutes he didn't say a single word."

Skye forced herself to calm down to listen to his story, "Did he actually do anything?"

"All he said was, 'I'm sorry'. And then he went back to his room."

She still was suspicious, "That doesn't sound like Jack at all."

William looked out the window, "You know, after that day, something changed in him."

"What makes you think that?"

He fumbled his paws trying to articulate the best description of his father, "I don't know...he became like, more distant in a way? I think this is when he started getting more stressed out about things."

Skye wrapped her head around his observation, "Stressed huh? I could see that, the old Jack is definitely gone. Even with Jack acting the way now there's something missing."

"Like what?"

"Before he was passionate about his work, you could tell that deep down he had fun in this sort of stuff. But now he's too serious about it in a way."

William sighed, "You know, maybe he's not all there anymore mentally at least. I think he's one more emotional breakdown away from going crazy, until recently he was drinking more and more. Sometimes I wonder what would happen to him when I leave."

"Seems like you're doing a good job of keeping him alive at least." Skye said in a slightly amused manner.

Her claim made him reflect on his relationship with Jack, on the surface it seemed like a normal father-son relationship, but underneath especially as William became older he had doubts whether or not he could frame them as just that, a family unit.

"I'm really worried about him though, what's going to happen when I leave for college? I swear I feel like I'm his therapist, but I'm not equipped to do that stuff, I'm only 18 for God's sake!" he spoke out his worries clearly getting upset.

"I'm sure he'll find something to cope with. He's still pretty smart if not exactly sure of himself, his job should keep himself busy for the meanwhile right?" the arctic fox offered her answer.

"Cope with what? More alcohol? Is he just going to pick up his things and move back to his hometown? Jack's trying really hard to keep himself upright but if he's alone what's going to keep him from going back to his bad habits?"

William's tail began to swish around and he slammed his paws on the seat underneath him, "Damn it, I'm getting tired of waiting! Is he coming back or not?"

Skye couldn't help but be troubled by the young cat's distress, "Calm down, he will as soon as he can. I'm sure he wants to be here just as much as you want him to."

The thought of going it alone in life frightened him, "He's the only family I have Skye, without him I feel like I'm by myself in this big, dangerous world."

The arctic fox frowned, "That's not true. _I'll_ be here also, you're important to me as well. I busted my ass to make sure you and Jack are safe in the first place. I'll tear this entire city down if it means keeping you away from harm."

"I know that, but...I still don't really trust you." he admitted.

"Why not?"

William huddled himself as the air in the car began to cool, "You're probably a nice person and all, but you also seem kind of...destructive."

Skye was taken aback by his description, "Destructive?"

"I saw what you did at Hunter's mansion, Jack told me that you're an assassin. Even now being with you I'm still a little...nervous."

Skye could see his tail's end twitching, "I'm not going to murder you in the car, let alone in public. Besides, Jack would be on the warpath if I did anything to harm you."

"I mean...he does get a little intense with protecting me..."

"Oh yeah, Jack _will_ get his vengeance if you were hurt in any way. He's told me that several times already and every time he's as serious as a heart attack." she told him pretending to silt her own throat.

"That's um...nice to hear?" William responded feeling more awkward than nervous now.

The vixen whipped out her phone, "Tell you what, let's just watch some funny videos on Zootube while we wait for Jack to get back alright?"

The cat could only do as she proposed, "Alright, if it'll stop you from talking about murder."

* * *

Jack huddled in his coat as his fur bristled, "Brr...why is it so cold here?"

"I don't know, it seems like the lights are dimmer here. I guess we got far away enough from the center of the stadium that the heater doesn't reach all the way here." Judy responded rubbing her arms.

Nick continued to sniff, "Whatever it is, it makes the scent easier to keep track of Henry's scent."

Jack couldn't help but be worried, "You know, perhaps we should come back with more help."

"What's wrong? Little Jackie's scared?" Nick teased the buck.

"No, I'm just concerned we might be heading towards something we would have trouble getting out of."

"If you're looking for an excuse to back out just tell us, I know you want to be back with your kid quickly right? I won't judge you at all." Nick suggested with sincerity.

"I appreciate your offer Nick, but I want to know for sure that this threat to our city's safety is contained." Jack affirmed.

"What? You don't trust us to stop the baddie?"

Jack shook his head, "It's not that, I'm just trying to make sure we are all safe."

The fox stopped for a moment, "Wait...he's here somewhere."

Judy's ear caught someone coughing, "I hear someone."

"It's him, ready your tranquilizers." Nick instructed the other two.

Jack reluctantly did so, "Let's not jump into conclusions Nick, please keep this civil."

"Of course buddy, what made you think I wasn't going to?" Nick said with a smug smirk on his face.

"My father said before when I was just a bunny not to assume things can be solved by needless fighting." Jack told him.

Nick shrugged, "Your father may say that, but I'm going to stick with my instincts."

"Follow me, I think the noise came from over here." Judy said to them.

Heading down a flight of stairs, they entered into what seemed like the locker rooms for when sport teams are holding games in the stadium.

"Ah, reminds me of the shower rooms at the ZPD." Nick commented.

"I heard more coughing. He's inside those showers."

Jack saw that it was dim inside and instantly his brain told him not to go there, "For fox's sake Judy, I'm not a fan of dark places."

"It'll be fine, we'll stick together. He can't overpower the three of us." Nick assured the buck.

"That's not what I mean Nick, I just...don't like dark places in particular." Jack admitted.

Judy chuckled, "It's okay Jack, sometimes I trouble too considering we have trouble seeing in the dark anyways. Nick should be better off since his eyes are made for this stuff."

"Hmm, a smoke screen would've been nice, choke him out of his hiding hole." Nick winked, "In this case I'll take the lead."

He aimed his lethal pistol towards the showers, "Alright, whoever's in there put your paws up and remove any weapons that you have on you!"

" _About time."_

"I'm impressed, it is Henry! Okay, before anything we should at least ask what he was doing here first." Judy told the fox.

"Alright then. Officer Meyer, please explain what you are doing here." Nick said in his more stringent police officer tone.

Henry appeared from the darkness with his own stern face with his paws up, "Just following orders."

Jack crossed his arms, "What orders?"

"Something that had to be done." the wolverine responded with no sense of irony, sarcasm, or satisfaction.

Nick held up his gun, "And that something is?"

"You're kidding right? Subduing that damn mole of a officer of course!" Henry exclaimed.

Judy was surprised by his discovery, "Huh? You found him?"

Emotion flooded Henry's face, "It's hard to keep your head down when you're a freaking _bear_."

"Bear? But..." Nick thought on it, "It isn't Friedkin is it?"

Henry gave them an exasperated expression, "What? No! It's...I'll show you."

The wolverine ran back into the showers and emitted a loud grunt along with a thump before he dragged an unconscious brown bear into view, "Here! Here's your mole, or should I say bear?" he said before chuckling a little.

Nick gave the bear a poke to the face, "Hmm, so this bastard's been the one pulling the strings huh?"

Jack closely inspected the officer, "Eh? The badge says Officer Harold."

"Must be from another precinct, either way the Chief isn't going to enjoy having to investigate this whole thing. Also, I'm worried that more officers may be into this scheme." Judy chimed in.

Henry cracked his knuckles, "I have two jobs, being an officer of the law, and taking down supremacists of both sides."

"I haven't seen this side of you before, I like the feistiness though." Nick admired the wolverine's determined resolve.

"I've been trying to keep it on the low down, but now you guys now about my mission."

Jack rested his body on the bear's stomach, "Well, I appreciate the sentiment...what?"

The three's eyes were wide open, "Jack, you may want to get up." Judy warned the buck.

The agent heard a loud snort and for a moment was overcome with the sensation of relieving himself, "Oh...I may have been too hasty."

"I thought you knocked him out!" Nick yelled at Henry.

"I did! I just didn't think he would get back up so soon!"

The bear struggled to pick himself back up but was otherwise furious, "I'm going to get you little fucks!"

"Yeah, good luck with picking off four highly trained officers mate. I'm sure that'll go well." Jack sarcastically goaded Officer Harold.

Nick sighed and quickly grabbed his tranquilizer gun, "Fine, I'll bring him down."

However before the fox was able to aim towards the bear, Officer Harold rushed towards him on all fours and took a swift swipe. Despite his claws missing the fox, the impact on the gun itself was enough to stun Nick's arm temporarily causing him to drop the weapon.

"Ah fuck! That stings..." Nick said rubbing his paw.

The bear snorted through his nostrils and growled loudly, "Gotcha now."

Jack made a quick leap onto the bear's head and covered his eyes, "Excuse me, didn't mean to interrupt your brutish behavior."

Officer Harold attempted to grab the buck, "Get off!"

"Judy! Now!" the buck said holding onto the bear's fur for dear life.

The doe without a second thought grabbed her gun and took the shot, however the dart missed him by inches as he swung his body wildly trying to toss the rabbit off him.

"Your stupid darts aren't enough to bring me down!"

Officer Harold managed to grab the Jack's scruff and violently threw him onto the lockers, the sound of the buck's body slamming into the metal lockers was proof enough that the agent sustained some damage.

For Jack himself it all seemed a blur from being thrown off the bear to the moment of impact, but once the sensation kicked in the buck found himself immobilized by pain in his lower back as it took all of his weight.

He coughed loudly and swore that he tasted blood at the back of his throat, " _That doesn't seem good..._ "

His hearing also took a beating as muffled yelling attempted to reach his ears, but Jack lacked the strength to even refocus his vision.

" _Ah well, fuck it I guess I'm done then."_

Suddenly he felt himself being picked up and put into a sitting position, " _Jack! Jack, get up!"_

He recognized it as Judy's voice, "Stop him..."

" _Stay with me Jack!"_

The buck could feel himself hurting inside, "I'm in a bit of a bind Judy."

It wasn't clear to Jack whether his age was the culprit behind his reduced ability to take pain or if it was a lack of exercise but he knew his body was already at its limits without risking injury.

"I can't fight..." he forced himself to regain his composure, "Judy, you have to help Nick and Henry."

Judy looked back to see Nick being chased by the bear, "But-"

" _Carrots I need some help here!"_ he yelled to her.

"Now Officer Hopps. I'll be fine." Jack affirmed the doe.

She looked to him and gave a firm nod, "Yes sir."

Judy quickly joined by Nick's side, "Alright, got any ideas fluff?"

The doe found her confidence again being by her partner, "Well..."

The bear was being distracted by Henry who leaped from side to side of the locker room benches, "Aw heck, let's have some fun."

Nick grinned, "I like the sound of that. What are we going for?"

"We'll use his size against him, remember what Jack did earlier?"

"I don't know, Jack tried being a hero and look at him now." Nick sarcastically noted.

Judy quickly looked around and found something that she thought would be useful, "Grab those bags!"

Nick saw that they contained soccer balls inside, "Definitely left of field thinking Carrots, let's hope that pulls us through."

"Hide behind that wall, I'll tell you when to come out!" Judy told the fox as she ran for the bear.

"Crazy bunny, but I love her for that." he said fumbling one of the soccer balls in his paws.

Henry was panting from running back and forth evading the bear, "J-Judy, help!"

The bear directed his sights towards the doe who happily waved at him with a big smile, "If you want me, you're going to have to catch me!"

"Oh I will Officer Hopps, when I get my paws on you!"

The bear charged for the doe, who immediately sped off back towards where Nick was. Once she ran past him she gave him the signal, "Now!"

Nick tossed the bag and with it a volley of soccer balls flooded the floor, the bear realized seconds too late and despite doing his best to stop he tripped and fell on his stomach on the floor.

"Huh, that was fun." Nick said stepping around the soccer balls with a smug grin on his face.

Every time the bear picked himself up he came right back down after losing his grip, "Screw you Officer Wilde, I should've killed you when I had the chance!"

Nick whipped out his large cuffs, "Yeah yeah, tell it to the judge."

Judy reappeared, "Good work Nick!"

The fox shrugged, "It was nothing. Another day, another dollar."

Nick kicked one of the soccer balls which landed on the bear's stomach, "Oh and..."

He went around Officer Harold, "Take a nap."

He grabbed a dart from his belt and stuck it right into the bear's bottom.

"Ah! You dirty fox, I'll...I'll..."

Quickly the bear when to sleep, "Night night pal."

Judy gasped, "Jack! Is he okay?"

"I'll check up on him. Call in help." Nick told the doe.

He went back for the buck, "Yo Jack! You doing okay there?"

The buck weakly gave him a thumbs up, "Hanging on, nothing's broken I've decided."

To Nick it felt like he was talking to a child who was adamant that they didn't just hurt themselves in an accident, "Just sore? I find that hard to believe after what just happened to you."

Jack nodded, "Nothing a hot cup of tea and some biscuits in bed would do. I'll go see a doctor later."

Nick chuckled and patted Jack's arm, "Couldn't fit the stereotype more if you tried."

"Can't help it, those things comfort me. Well that and some brown liquor."

The fox found the rabbit's insistence both pitiful and amusing, "I get the impression sometimes that you may not be as bright as you think you are."

Jack rubbed his stomach to try to ease the pain, "And what makes you say that?"

"You just jumped onto a bear's head and tried to blind him. _Children_ do that Jack." Nick jokingly scolded him.

The buck felt embarrassed over his predicament, "Guess I got a little too cocky, I do apologize for that stunt."

"Well, better you saying it rather than me having to say that to your son at your funeral."

Jack grunted as he tried to lift himself up, "I may need some help."

"Course, feel free to hop onto my back, heh...hop." Nick said hoisting the buck onto his back.


	53. Chapter 52

_**Yep, final chapter...**_

" _And so it ends. Well...today at least it does, no telling whether life will throw something my way again. But I'm going to enjoy this moment right now, back with my son. With him I do feel that we accomplished something together, but at the same time I don't feel completely happy. Why? I did everything right didn't I? So why is something off?"_

 _"_ Dad?"

Jack snapped out of his introspection, "Yes?"

"Something wrong? You look like you're worried." William commented on his father's behavior.

The two were at a park as Jack decided it was the best place to decompress together after today's rather intense events.

The buck stretched his body out on the bench, "I'm guessing you want to know how I _really_ feel right now huh?"

His son nodded, "You can tell me, it's not like I'm going to tell anyone anyways."

Jack found himself wishing for a cup of tea from Snarlbucks right about now, sighing he looked up towards the gray sky, "Where should I start?"

Despite the cold and now lightly snowing conditions the cat wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere, "I got all day."

"Hmm...what _do_ I want to say?"

Jack noticed a young kangaroo playing happily with his father and suddenly it struck him, "William...you needed a father."

His son rolled his eyes, "Duh, I couldn't exactly fend for myself when I was a kitten."

The rabbit huddled in his coat, "The problem was that I wasn't really there for you."

William tilted his head, "Really? You're still worried about this? For fox's sake I've told you many times before that you have been here for me."

"I should've try to mend my relationship with Skye so that we could marry. Then you would've had a father and a mother." Jack rationalized his statement.

The cat sighed, "Dad, I already know what happened between you and her. Skye told me already."

Jack smiled wearily, "I figured she would, sneaky old dear she is. But I'm serious, I was so consumed by work at times I wasn't able to attend to you everyday."

"It didn't really bother me that much." William shrugged off his father's concern.

"You don't need to lie."

His son quickly turned his head towards him, "Huh? I'm not lying."

Jack intently looked at his son's eyes, "You cried before."

"I did not!" William insisted.

His father's smile grew cheekier, "I remember one night, I came back home to pick up something I forgot. I didn't bother telling you because I was home for a very short time but I heard you crying in your room."

"I-I did no such thing." his son said visibly embarrassed.

"I was honestly surprised you didn't hear me come in, but I remember it like it was yesterday. You were on your bed clutching the baseball I gave you before sniffing, it was quite late so I assume you were trying to sleep. Anyways I could see your face through the door, red eyes, tears puddling on the bed." Jack recalled.

"Wait, if you saw me crying, why didn't you say anything to me?" William then said a little confused.

Jack tapped his chin, "I was quite in a hurry at the time, to be fair I did feel guilty that I didn't comfort you."

His son crossed his arms, "Fine...I admit it, I was crying because I missed you."

The buck rubbed his son's shoulder, "See? I was right."

William rested his head on Jack's, "When I was little I thought it was unfair that you were gone so much, I wanted so badly to see you because without you around I felt completely alone. In a way I still kind of do since I don't have anyone else as close to me as you."

The city skyline slowly began to disappear as the foggy snow increased in volume, leaving a light gray tint in their surroundings.

The two sitting so closely together on the bench granted them a few stares but Jack and William ignored them, "I figured as much, that's why I said earlier that maybe I should've been more insistent on marrying Skye."

The cat couldn't help but smile, "I'm going to guess it's a little late for that huh?"

Jack whistled, "Very. Skye and I agreed to stay on cordial terms. I do my thing and she hers."

"And Judy?" William asked wondering if that was still a thing for him.

"Hmm..."

* * *

"You okay Jack?" Judy asked walking beside the still struggling agent.

Jack rubbed his stomach, "I'm coming around, I might be sore for a little bit but otherwise nothing to worry about."

Judy held his paw, "Don't strain yourself. If you're hurt just tell us so we can help you."

"Sweet as ever, thanks for asking how I'm doing but really I'm okay." the buck said.

Judy could only smile at his stubbornness, "I know what happened before but I still like you anyways Jack. No matter what others might say, I think you're a pretty swell buck."

Jack blushed, "T-Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."

The doe landed a light punch on his shoulder, "You got me worried back there, next time let me know if you need help alright?"

"He needed _my_ help Carrots." Nick said walking alongside Henry.

The wolverine scrunched his nose, "I'm surprised you're still standing Jack, after seeing Harold throw you like a rag."

"I've been through worse. Has Officer Harold already been detained?" Jack asked the fox.

Nick nodded, "He's going away for a long time, we can breathe a little easier now. Oh, I shouldn't hold you up from your kid."

Jack smiled gratefully, "Yes, I've been gone long enough. I'm guessing this is really goodbye then?"

Judy's smile remained but lost some of its luster, "Yep, we gotta inform the chief on everything that just happened. It's going to be quite the story to tell."

"Can't wait to hear what Buffalo wings is going to yell about now, I'm not expecting a parade or anything but hopefully he decides to chill just enough to hear us out without going crazy." Nick told the agent with some lament.

The buck chuckled, "I can see that, well I'll get out of you two's fur. We'll keep in contact."

Judy shook his paw firmly, "After today, I'm definitely keeping in touch with you."

"Hate to admit it in front of Carrots like this but you were a lot more helpful than I thought. Maybe you aren't a worthless bum after all." Nick joked at the end.

Jack held out his paw towards the fox, "Friends then?"

Nick shrugged and shook his paw, "We'll go with that. Good luck, and take care."

"Don't be a stranger Agent Savage." Henry told the buck.

The agent gave the three a polite bow, "I'm off then, send my regards to Chief Bogo."

Jack ran back to his car to find Skye and William waiting for him outside the car, "William!"

"Dad!"

The two reunited, gratefully hugging each other, "I'm back, didn't I tell you I will be okay? There was nothing to worry about."

William fought back the tears, "If you ever run off again I'll chase you down."

The arctic vixen seemed relieved, "I'm glad to see you back in one piece."

Jack turned his attention to her, "Thank you Skye. If you didn't show up to my house I wouldn't been able to motivate myself to save him."

She smirked, "Someone had to get your pathetic ass into motion."

"You're right about that, do you need a lift back home?" Jack then asked her.

She shook her head, "Actually I can walk home from here, it'll be good exercise. Besides, I'm sure you want to get back home with William at soon as possible."

The rabbit glanced at his son, "You're right in your guessing."

"Phil and Em are actually waiting for me, I forgot to call them earlier about why I went poof." Skye said making a poof motion with her paws.

"I would be worried sick if you happened to do the same to me...at a earlier point of course."

The two hugged each other with friendly intent, "Stay out of trouble you hear?"

Jack winked, "Same for you, I don't want to get involved in another of your schemes."

Skye laid her paws on her hips, "My schemes? Just don't stumble into another mess and it's a deal."

* * *

"I see her as a good friend now, I hope at some point in the future we'll work together again, in a less stressful environment of course." Jack added at the end.

The cat grew to respect the doe despite only meeting her a few times directly, all those times she presented a sort of determination that would impress anyone short of the most strict or cynical authority figures. Nick also gained some respect, not to the same degree as Judy but William trusted that the fox despite his sharp personality will carry out his duties as an officer of the law faithfully.

"You gonna start dating again?" William asked in a frank manner.

Jack awkwardly snickered, "To be honest once you're out of the house, it would be easier for me to enjoy some company."

The cat quickly sat straight up away from his father, "And the moment's ruined."

"Despite what our society likes to believe, being 31 is not at all old age." Jack reminded his son.

William snorted, "I never considered you old, yet."

"I don't mean to brag but I had no difficulty wooing lovers before I began dating Skye." Jack continued on his previous escapades.

William looked around fearing that others may pick up on their conversation, "I think I get it."

"The apartment I lived in before had seen many visitors I can tell you, the bedroom door needed fixing after a while."

The cat grew more horrified, "You can stop it now."

"I had to call in sick one day, this one girl wouldn't stop badgering me for another round that morning, I felt quite sore-"

"Dad! Shut up please for the love of all Zootopia!" William cried out.

Jack grinned seeing his son getting all worked up, "I was just bantering William calm yourself. We're two adult males, and judging how you look at your girlfriend it's safe to say you've been up to some 'fun' yourself."

William came to the realization that Jack was playing with him, Skye had said before that Jack liked to mess with other people for his own amusement, but he had never done it to his own son before, at least not to this degree.

"Are you trying to say something?" William said getting agitated.

"What's wrong? Is the thought of your father having fun so worrying to you?" Jack teased spinning his finger around in front of his son's face.

William had never seen his father look so casual and mischievous before, "In the context of your history with how you treat yourself and others? Yes, I am worried."

Jack pretended to be hurt which reminded his son quite a bit of Nick, "Oof, that's quite a burn you landed on me lad."

His son was still processing this new, unfamiliar side of Jack, "Is this the real you Dad? The _real_ real you?"

Jack shrugged, "I don't know, maybe it is, maybe it isn't."

"...are you drunk?"

The rabbit shook his head holding his paws up, "Not yet."

William frowned, "You sound too chipper for me and it's kind of creeping me out a bit, are you hiding something from me? Please don't tell me you're thinking of doing something stupid."

"What, am I supposed to be this miserable excuse of a father who drinks and moans endlessly about life? I'm done with it, I can't be arsed to go back to being this sort of bullshit 'proper' agent. I'm me, and I'll live my life as I want from now on!" Jack righteously declared loudly.

The cat was again embarrassed to be seen with his father at the park, "Are you sure you didn't sneak a bottle behind my back?"

His father stood up on the bench and grabbed his son's collar, "Listen William, where I grew up we were expected to finish secondary school, pick up some kind of trade in God knows what, find some doe in a pub and fuck her until she pops out bunnies. Then we all live miserably in a rundown townhouse or estate until I die of alcohol poisoning on my couch watching fucking football like my uncle!"

William was frozen by his father's outburst, "Dad...you're really starting to scare me now."

His father tugged him closer, "Good! Brilliant! Be scared! Don't end up like me! I was so desperate not to end up in that shite that I moved to this city and became an entirely different person just so I can pretend I was high class. I'm not some sort of toff pedigree hare, I'm just a fucking lowlife buck!"

Jack panted and then released his son from his grip and sat back down, "So yeah, that's me. Jack fucking Savage."

" _Is he hurting you?"_

William turned to find a ZPD officer staring sternly at Jack, "No, he's my Dad. He's just venting right now, he's not hurting anyone."

The officer took a moment to decide whether Jack was a threat to public safety but she seemed to pass on him, "I see, you two have a lovely evening."

"Thank you, you too." William politely told the officer.

Jack scratched the back of his head, " _Cunt..."_

William barely caught his dad's utterance, "What?"

"Nothing, just me being a dickhead. Whoo! I feel so much better after that little talk, thank you for not getting angry at me." Jack said happily smiling.

The cat decided that even with all that just happened seeing his father this happy was definitely worth it, "Sure, but don't do that again in public alright?"

Jack gave him a tight hug, "No promises. And now, for you."

"Huh?"

Jack lifted one of his ears, "I'm your father, and I know that inside you're feeling overwhelmed right now. With college coming up, us dealing with those criminals today, I know you're feeling a little stressed at least."

The cat meekly nodded, "A little yeah."

His father laid down on the bench, "Alright, let me hear it."

William closed his eyes, "Um...what's going to happen to you when I leave?"

"Not much, probably go on vacation to a nice tropical island for a week then come back." Jack told his son of his plans.

"I meant like...how will you get by?"

Jack thought on it, "I'm not sure at the moment, I guess it'll be something to figure out once it happens. Don't worry, it's not like I'm immediately going to hang myself as soon as you walk out the door. I suppose I'll just have to talk to my friends more, we don't do much outside work if I'm being honest."

"That's good to hear I guess."

Jack cracked his back and sat back up, "After today I learned that I've been taking you for granted. But the fact is that you just like anyone else is a person with their own aspirations and needs, I need to let you go."

A frustrated smile appeared on the cat's face, "I'm not going anywhere Dad, I keep telling you that."

"I know, but I'm smothering you right now when you're supposed to be becoming an independent person. I'm afraid that I've been holding you back for a while now especially since I've been struggling with myself lately."

William saw that Jack's smile was gone, "I'm doing fine, you're just being a little paranoid which is normal since you're my Dad after all. But trust me, I'm sure I can take care of myself just fine."

The rabbit sighed, "That's all I want to hear. Anything else?"

His son seemed apprehensive at first but relented, "I always wondered, what _would_ you do if I died, like someone killed me?"

Jack looked at him with a bewildered expression, "I...I don't know. When you were taken I fell into shock, I didn't know what to do except hide like some kind of scared bunny. A part of me would've swore revenge but I don't know if I would be able to convince myself to act on it. I'm sure that suicide would've been more likely since the thought of you being dead would've probably be too much for me."

William could see the buck was earnest in his answer and recoiled a bit, "I figured as much, you still scare me once in a while with your thought process."

Jack patted his son's paw, "I won't let it come to that. I swear on my life."

"Are you going to stay in the house?"

"Well...maybe, I don't know if it's even economical keeping a house that was designed for a family with just me living in it. I could downsize and move to Downtown since it would cost about the same."

William could imagine a single buck like Jack being enticed by the city life, "Like an apartment?"

"Sounds reasonable, something big enough for both of us so you don't have to sleep on the couch when you visit." Jack told him envisioning any potential future habitation.

"Aren't apartments downtown pretty pricey?"

Jack wasn't fazed, "I'm still part of the ZBI, I highly doubt that'll be an issue for me."

" _Aww, look at those two Owen, aren't they adorable?"_

Jack looked to see two male mongooses looking at them with awe, "Can I help you two gentlemammals?"

One of the mongooses seemed excited by his accent, "He's British? I think he might be an actor!"

Owen smiled excitedly, "I think you're right Nathan. He's definitely one handsome bunny."

William laughed in disbelief, "You think's he an actor?"

"He's not? I swear I saw him in a movie before..." Nathan said now confused.

Jack couldn't help but feel pleasantly surprised, "This might be the first time I've been mistaken for an actor. But I can assure you I'm not one."

"You sure are a cute couple though. Just seeing you two on the bench together is probably the most adorable thing I saw all week." Owen said.

The cat and rabbit both looked straight at him with shock, "N-No wait you misunderstood, we're not a couple!" William stammered.

The mongoose didn't seem to buy it, "You don't need to deny it, we're in Zootopia! Probably one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world."

Jack also felt awkward but could see how the two could be seen as a couple since they appeared to be similar in age and different species, "You can believe me, him and I are family. I'm his father."

It took a second for the couple to process his explanation, "Oh! I get it now!"

Nathan grinned, "He's your 'Daddy', right?"

William scratched his head, "Um...yeah? I don't call him 'Daddy' but-"

"That's not what he meant William. I'm his actual father, I adopted him, we are not in that _sort_ of relationship." Jack more firmly stated.

Nathan became visibly embarrassed, "Oh! I'm so sorry, I just thought from seeing you two being so close that you guys were dating or something."

Jack took it in stride, "It's no harm, I'm just glad you two weren't the sort to disparage us for me being a predator's father."

"We would never! It would be wrong to do that considering our situation, we support your decision to raise him." Owen assured.

William felt a little uncomfortable and shuffled away from Jack, "Thanks, I'm sorry but can I just talk to my Dad?"

"Of course! We're sorry for putting you on the spot like that. We'll let you two be, have a nice rest of your day!" Owen said to them before walking with his mate down the path.

The cat groaned, "Remember when I said that this would happen? That was the most awkward conversation I think I ever had."

"Even more than the 'birds and bees' talk?" Jack reminded his son.

"Probably even that. Can we go home now?"

Jack jumped off the bench and stretched his body once more, "We can, just one more thing..."

The rabbit turned to him with a smile, "Don't ever mention this talk we just had to anyone else, got it?"

William sarcastically zipped his lips, "Never was even contemplating it, let's get out of here before more people start to ask things."

A thought struck the cat, "I just realized we need to buy new groceries. I forgot to put them in the fridge."

Jack facepawed himself, "Aw...fuck me."

 _ **That's all for this story, quite a journey for me at least. I can't say if I 'grew' as a writer, but I can say I did have get some enjoyment out of it. My sorry excuse is that I'm not a writer by profession, at least not with fiction but I gave it a try to flex my creative muscles :) It did end differently than I was originally intending it to be, but this ending felt more appropriate given the events that unfolded. An epilogue may be added at some point in the future, don't count on it but if I make one I'll be sure to add it. Regardless of how you felt about this story or how the story was told I genuinely thank you a lot for taking the time to read it and I'll look forward to making more in the future. I'm sure you guys may have some questions about the story and you can message me if you want. I also recognize that this story has had some questionable moments in it and you can mention it if you want, I'm going to try to learn from writing this story and apply it in the future. Anyways, once again thank you for reading!**_


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